



and forsaken wanderer, perishing of thirstin a waste, 
howling wilderness." See page 54. 



EASTERN MANNERS 



ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE 



OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY. 



BY THE 

Rev. ROBERT JAMESON, 

MINISTER OF CURRIE. 



As to their literary character, the Scriptures are 
thoroughly Oriental ; and they contain sketches of 
the customs and manners of almost every people of 
note who have figured in this quarter of the world. 
— Sir William Jones. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 



1 -* — r s <^ 

1* 



LC control Number 




tmp96 



02T354 







JUNl I 1919 

PXTBUC LTB.RA.RT 



cojSITJJMTt!. 



CHAPTER I. 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 

Patriarchs a pastoral race — resemblance between them 
and the Bedouin Arabs — emigration to Egypt — war- 
fare — hospitality — change of name, 9 

CHAPTER II. 

PATRIARCHAL LIFE CONTINUED. 

Ishmael in the Desert — terrible effects of thirst — wells 
— the Goel or blood avenger — travelling— Arab shep- 
herdess — marriages — modes of salutation, 48 

U-i 



CHAPTER III. 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 

Slaves— jailers — elevation of slaves — ceremony of in- 
vestiture — entertainments-— presents of garments- 
funerals— embalming— oppression and infanticide- 
idolatry — plagues- -passage of Red Sea. - 88 

CHAPTER IV. 

LIFE IN THE DESERT. 

Song and dance — travelling — qualities of water — 
honey — serpents — illustrations of Mosaic laws — re- 
storation of garments at night— diet— leprosy — eat- 
ing salt — Goelism — waters of jealousy— cutting of 
flesh and hair — seething kid — paying for water- 
cursing an enemy — hornets, - - 132 

3 



CHAPTER V. 



LIFE IN CANAAN.. 



Wars — artifices — offering presents - v — stratagems — 
lapping water— massacres of royal families—riddles 
—setting fire to fields— treatment of prisoners — 
spoils— idols— reapers— sleeping at the feet of the 
great — business at the gates— pulling off the shoe — 
sleeping on roof— executions, - - 172 

CHAPTER VI. 

LIFE IN CANAAN CONTINUED. 

War summons — single combats — heads of enemies — 
triumphal processions — princes' dress — harems- 
beds— general massacres— treatment of the dead — 
elegy— beards— expression of grief— usurpations- 
concealment in wells— reverence due to royalty, 216 

CHAPTER VII. 

LIFE IN CANAAN CONCLUDED. 

Presents according to rank necessary— chiefs in search 
of fodder— heathen gods— running before the great 
— mantle of the prophets— marks of humiliation — 
gardens — baldness — rain — coup-de-soleil — ladies 
travelling — salutations — panics in war — rapacity of 
dogs — pyramids of heads — walking on fire — Simoom 
— royal funerals, - 254 

CHAPTER VIII. 

BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE. 

Absolute power — court and festivals — Sultana — diffi- 
culty of access to kings — astrologers— eunuchs — 
vizier— pride of grandees— records— honours— ban- 
quet— effects of royal anger— laws irreversible- 
couriers— dromedaries— dreams—symbols — rewards 
and punishments, - 287 



PREFACE. 

The design of the following little work is to illus- 
trate some of the most striking and remarkable 
events in sacred history. In following the che- 
quered fortunes of the people of God, the reader 
of the Bible meets with a great variety of incidents 
and manners that cannot be reduced to any com- 
parative standard with which he is acquainted ; 
and he finds himself often at a loss to form a cor- 
rect idea of transactions bearing little or no resem- 
blance to the course of things in this part of the 
world. The well-known permanence of Oriental 
customs offers a reasonable prospect of throwing 
light on such peculiarities of the word of God ; 
and, accordingly, ever since the era of the Re- 
formation, a class of adventurers have gone forth, 
with the Bible in their hand, to explore every re- 
gion in that quarter of the world, examining and 
comparing with its present state, whatever was 
1* 5 



6 PREFACE. 

memorable or characteristic in the scenes and man- 
ners described in the sacred story, and furnishing, 
by their various observations, a vast collection of 
curious and interesting illustrations of the Scrip- 
tures. From such ample sources of information, 
which the enterprising spirit of modern times has 
opened, several learned works have been compiled, 
by the aid of which the professional student of the 
Bible, and others of mature understanding, may 
acquire a thorough knowledge, not only of the 
more obvious traits of Eastern manners, but also 
of all the lighter allusions to those peculiarities 
which lie concealed under the veil of metaphor, or 
verbal statement. But as all of these are either so 
expensive as not to be generally accessible, or so 
mixed up with dry and tedious disquisitions as to 
be destitute of all attraction to the young, whom it 
is a matter of great importance to interest in the 
study of the Bible, it has long appeared desirable 
to the compiler of this work, to furnish a book of 
such a nature as should contain within a manage- 
able compass, an illustration of all the more im- 
portant parts of sacred history. Accordingly, such 
being the task he has imposed upon himself, it did 



not enter into his plan to give a regular and sys- 
tematic treatise, or to classify the various facts of 
the sacred writings that relate to the subject of 
Eastern manners. His whole design being to ex- 
cite the curiosity and interest of the juvenile mind 
in the most instructive and important of all histo- 
ries, he has been guided, in the composition of this 
work, by what seemed most calculated to strike the 
imagination of the young student of the Bible. 
Omitting therefore all minor points and details 
which would embarrass the understanding and fa- 
tigue the attention, he has confined himself to the 
more prominent and characteristic circumstances 
that are presented in the sacred narrative, giving 
them an additional interest, by the introduction of 
an illustrative story or extract. The book will thus 
form a sort of commentary, in which the illustra- 
tions it embraces run parallel with the course of 
the history. 

It would be impossible to specify all the authori- 
ties on which the statements contained in the fol- 
lowing pages are made. For, besides the works 
of Michaelis, Harmer, Burder, Calmet, Home, 
Roberts, Brown, and Paxton, which have been 



8 PREFACE. 

frequently consulted in the course of the composi- 
tion, the author, determined to take nothing at 
second hand, has, for almost every fact and illus- 
tration he has made applied to the fountain head — 
the works of travellers and historians, many of 
which have appeared since the writers above men- 
tioned gave their learned labours to the world, and 
which are the best sources, inasmuch as they con- 
tain the testimony of those who themselves have 
seen and described 

" The manners living as they rise." 
Currie Manse, July 1838. 



EASTERN MANNERS. 



CHAPTER I. 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 

Patriarchs a pastoral race — resemblance between them and the Be- 
douin Arabs traced in the wandering habits of the Arab shepherds 
— Abraham's emigration into Egypt — Arabs still remove at certain 
seasons into that country — Abraham's expedition against the con- 
federate kings — insignificance and short duration of Arab wars — 
Abraham's entertainment of the angels — hospitality of the Arabs — 
change of name common. 

The Hebrew nation traced their descent to a tribe 
of wandering shepherds, whose original settlement 
lay along the spacious and fertile plains of Chaldea, 
and who, at the time when their history opens, 
were encamped at Charran — a barren and uninter- 
esting tract of that territory, but memorable in their 
annals, by the death of the aged Sheik Terah ; the 
succession of his eldest surviving son, Nahor, to 
the hereditary honours of the clan ; and, especially, 
by the departure of a colony, under the auspices of 
Abraham, to form an independent tribe in a distant 
land. The separation of that chief and his family 
from the parent stock, though made in compliance 
with an express command of God, was yet con- 
formable to the practice of Eastern herdsmen, who 
are constantly sending forth adventurers in quest of 
new and more extensive pastures, and was encou- 
raged, by a prospect the most tempting to the 

9 



10 EASTERN MANNERS. 

leader of a pastoral people — the entire possession 
of a country abounding in all those natural re- 
sources on which the wealth of such a people 
mainly depends. Accordingly, no sooner had he 
and his followers reached the land of their adop- 
tion, than they dedicated themselves to the simple 
cares, to which they had been trained by their 
fathers on the banks of the Euphrates ; and, re- 
fusing to mingle with the native population, most 
of whom were associated in towns, or engaged in 
the regular pursuits of husbandry, they spread 
themselves over the unoccupied plains, and main- 
tained inviolate the character and habits of a no- 
madic tribe. Throughout the whole of their his- 
tory, this patriarch and his immediate descendants 
sustain the simple character of pastoral chiefs ; and 
though, when in Canaan, they were on the scene, 
where they were destined to be the founders of a 
powerful and flourishing people, yet, far from dis- 
playing those qualities of superior wisdom, or ad- 
venturous enterprise, which have been for the most 
part the means of procuring for others the distinc- 
tion of founders of a nation, they were known to 
the people among whom they sojourned, only as 
peaceful unambitious shepherds, whose lives were 
spent among the slaves and flocks that owned them 
for their lords ; and who owed whatever influence 
they had gained among the native princes, solely, 
through the blessing of God, to their great opu- 
lence, acquired by superior sagacity in the breed- 
ing of their cattle, or successful barter of their pro- 
duce with the inhabitants of the neighbouring town's 
and villages. One distinction alone they possessed 
above their contemporaries, that, having renounced 
the Sabian idolatry — the worship of the starry host, 
which had become then the almost universal reli- 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 11 

gion of the world, they appeared in Canaan as the 
acknowledged servants of one true God, to whom, 
with pious care, they dedicated an altar, wherever 
they established their head quarters, and the know- 
ledge of whom they transmitted from sire to son 
as the peculiar and inalienable inheritance of the 
tribe. But, apart from their religious peculiarities, 
the chiefs of the Hebrew family had no claims to 
raise them above the obscurity of their native plains, 
or to attach importance to their name. The call from 
God, though it had led them to pitch their tents 
beneath other skies, and to wander over regions 
remote from the land of their birth, neither inter- 
fered with the humble tenor of their pursuits, nor 
altered the character of their primitive condition. 
Bred originally to the occupation of shepherds, and 
retaining, amid all their changes of fortune, a de- 
cided predilection for that ancient mode of life, 
their short and simple annals consist only of such 
incidents as make up the life of those whose princi- 
pal care was to provide for and protect their cattle ; 
and in all points relating to their state of society — 
their habits of life — their knowledge of the arts — 
even their prejudices and their notions of honour, 
they were exactly on a level with the numerous 
migratory hordes that divided with them the pas- 
toral regions of Mesopotamia and Canaan. 

This resemblance between the inhabitants of an- 
cient Palestine and the neighbouring countries, might 
have opened up a source of much valuable informa- 
tion respecting the manners and customs described 
by Moses, had not the history of the patriarchs be- 
longed to a period anterior to the existence of all 
written records. But although no memorials exist 
of the contemporaries of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
yet the want of these may be supplied much better 



12 EASTERN MANNERS. 

than the remoteness of the period would lead us to 
suppose, by a knowledge of their descendants, the 
Arabs of the present day, who, tracing their de- 
scent from a collateral branch of the family of Abra- 
ham, perpetuate the memory of that alliance by a 
faithful adherence to the way of their fathers, and 
among whom various causes have contributed to 
maintain the manners of ancient times in almost as 
much purity as in the days of Ishmael, their cele- 
brated founder. In almost all parts of the East, 
particularly in the deserts of Arabia and the moun- 
tainous regions of Syria and Palestine, there are to 
be found people of this description, who, disdain- 
ing the regular pursuits of artificial society, move 
about from place to place, as the want of pasturage 
for their cattle, or the sale of their produce may 
require. Imbibing from that mode of life a love of 
liberty, and a spirit of independence which has 
never bowed to the yoke of a foreign conqueror, 
they have kept themselves uniformly separate from 
all other people; insomuch that they have under- 
gone, in the lapse of centuries, probably as little 
change as the mountains and valleys which are the 
scene of their wanderings: — and while the inhabi- 
tants of other countries have been passing through 
various gradations of the social state — have been 
exterminated by the sword of the ruthless invader, 
or become so blended by general intercourse with 
other nations as to have lost the distinguishing cha- 
racters of their birth, this singular people have re- 
mained a pure and unmingled race, have preserved 
iheir unity of character through a succession of 
ages, and maintained among all the tribes into 
which they have branched, and in all the countries 
over which they are scattered, such an inviolable 
attachment to the same usages, as establishes their 




See page 13. 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 13 

common origin, and affords the strongest evidence 
that these usages are the inheritance of a remote 
antiquity. All the descriptions which ancient his- 
tory has given of them, are verified to the letter by 
their present condition. Their primitive form of 
government — the erratic life of which they are so 
passionately fond — their property consisting wholly 
of flocks, which they conduct from place to place, 
to feed on the spontaneous produce of nature — their 
rude dwellings of goats' hair cloth, which they can 
pitch and remove at pleasure — their encampments 
beneath the umbrageous shade of a group of palm 
trees, or in the vicinity of a flowing stream — their 
simple diet, consisting of milk and unleavened 
bread, and occasionally heightened by the luxury 
of a lamb from the flocks — their pacific and hos- 
pitable character in the camp — and their readiness 
to assume an attitude of hostility — all these carry 
us back to the simplicity of the first ages ; and be- 
speak the Arabs of the present day to be the genu- 
ine representatives of those ancient shepherds, who, 
in the age of Moses, dwelt under similar tents, and 
led their sheep and their camels to browse on the 
same pastures, and to drink at the same springs. 
So obvious, indeed, is this resemblance between 
the primitive and the present race of Asiatic shep- 
herds, that all travellers have remarked it ; and it 
was the deliberate opinion of one* who had the 
best opportunities for forming an accurate opinion, 
" that the sacred historian of the children of Israel 
will never be thoroughly understood, so long as we 
are not acquainted with the Arabian Bedouins, and 
the countries in which they live and pasture." 
A few general observations on the state and hab- 

* Burckhard*. 
2 



14 EASTERN MANNERS. 

its of these Arab shepherds may form not an inap- 
propriate introduction to the narratives by which it 
is the design of this and the following chapter to 
illustrate the incidents of patriarchal history. 

Their societies are of the simpliest kind — the 
only form of government subsisting among them 
being that most ancient and universal one, which 
gives to the head of a family the sole and undis- 
puted control of all its members. The chief takes 
the name of Sheik or lord, and as in every tribe 
there is one principal family to whom the honour 
of supplying him belongs, this office of dignity 
either devolves by hereditary right on the first-born 
of the senior family, or is conferred by election on 
whatever branch of it the general voice considers 
worthy of elevation to the supreme command. 
The occupier of this high station is invested with 
the authority and privileges of a petty sovereign. 
His will, regulated by established usages, serves 
instead of a written law, and no foreign power 
dare interfere with the exercise of the authority 
that belongs to the head of an independent tribe. 
The more numerous his family, dependants, and 
allies, the more extensive is his power and in- 
fluence. For although the original stock may branch 
out into a number of separate families, each of 
whom is governed by its respective chief, and may 
be joined also by other smaller tribes, which, too 
weak to live independent, court the alliance and 
protection of their more powerful neighbours, yet 
all these regard themselves as subordinate branches 
of one vast family, and are maintained in the 
bonds of common union, by sentiments of attach- 
ment and homage to him from whom they trace 
their origin, and to whom they acknowledge sub- 
mission. Such a union of families constitutes a 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 15 

tribe ; and so strongly does the hereditary tie of 
connexion impress itself on the minds of these 
wandering people, and give a tone and bias to their 
feelings, that all the individuals composing a tribe, 
let them be ever so numerous and widely dis- 
persed, call themselves the children of their chief, 
even although he whose name they assume, may 
have been long dead, and they never united to him 
by the bonds of consanguinity: — a feeling naturally 
rising out of their primitive form of society — of 
which many traces occur in sacred history, and 
which has been perpetuated in the well known ap- 
pellative, " the children of Israel," who, long after 
they had settled down into a regular community, 
retained the character and habits of a nomadic 
tribe. ■ 

The manner of life of these Eastern shepherds 
corresponds with the simplicity of their social con- 
dition. Their roving habits, unfavourable to the 
erection of any elaborate or fixed habitation, have 
taught them the art of rearing a simple and tempo- 
rary shelter, which, from its being introduced and 
peculiarly used by them, has given them the name 
of Scenites, or dwellers in tents, and whose great 
recommendation to a wandering people is the 
facility with which it admits of being raised and 
transported at will to any distance. It is a rude 
structure, consisting generally of a row of stakes, 
twelve or fifteen feet high, stuck into the ground, 
and converging at the top — -on these are laid others 
in a horizontal position, and over the whole is 
thrown a covering of goat's or camel's hair, forming 
an inclined plane for the rain to run off — and kept 
firm by having its extremities stretched down by 
cords fastened to hooked wooden pegs driven into 
the ground. The poles on which this simple build- 



16 EASTERN MANNERS. 

ing rests, are full of hooks, on which are hung the 
few utensils which their habits require — consisting 
of large bags for water made of tanned camel-skins, 
goat-skins for milk and butter, a mortar, a hand- 
mill, wooden bowls, and iron chains for fastening 
the feet or knees of the cattle. Such are the ma- 
terials of the tent, which is generally of an oblong 
figure, not unlike the inverted hull of a ship. It 
varies in size according to the amount of persons 
requiring accommodation in it; and, by simply 
dropping a curtain at each of the divisions, it may 
be turned into a number of separate apartments — 
an expedient always resorted to where there are 
women, with whom Eastern manners make it a crime 
for strangers to mingle. Beneath this canopy of 
skins or black hair-cloth, sufficient to exclude the 
rain and the dew, the Arab shepherd finds, wher- 
ever he wanders, a home, in which his attachments 
centre ; supplies the few wants of a nature that is 
a stranger to the luxuries of artificial life ; and, in 
the proud consciousness of a liberty unbounded as 
the desert, enjoys a pleasure and elasticity of soul, 
often unknown to the possessor of a lordly palace. 
The residence o'* the chiefs, though consisting of 
the same slender o»)d movable structure, is as much 
superior to the squalid tent of a common Arab, as 
the stately mansion of a European nobleman is to the 
hut of his meanest retainer. Known at once by its 
position in the centre of the camp, and by a piece of 
coloured cloth suspended as a flag from the top, it is 
conspicuous also by its superior dimensions — by the 
fineness and varied colours of the covering with- 
out, and by the air of greater convenience and ele- 
gance that reigns within. Besides having a tent 
of audience, in which they receive those they in- 
tend to honour, and separate tents for their wives 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 17 

and domestics — these petty sovereigns, rich, like 
the patriarchs, in gold and silver, have their resi- 
dence fitted up in a style corresponding to their 
rank and their ideas of ornament, and when visited 
by strangers of importance, display their hospi- 
tality with all the parade of splendour and royal 
ceremony. Around the dwelling of the chief, the 
tents of his followers are ranged in a line, or more 
frequently in form of a crescent or a square, the 
circuit of which varies in size, according to the 
strength of the tribe, and the area of which serves 
the double purpose of affording an enclosure to the 
cattle from the attacks of ravenous beasts by night, 
and a space for the people to assemble in, to receive 
the commands of the chief, when he gives the sig- 
nal for departure, or summons them to arms in 
cases of danger. It is a very interesting spectacle 
for the traveller to witness one of these portable 
villages pitched on a spot where the wild and 
boundless solitude exhibits nowhere else the slight- 
est traces of life or motion — with a group of the 
swarthy wanderers, with their turbaned head-dress 
and flowing drapery, squatted on the ground, par- 
taking of their simple repast, or listening with 
silent curiosity to a tale of wonder; while others 
are leading the sheep and the camels to graze or 
to water. 

The picturesque simplicity of this pastoral scene 
is equalled only by the appearance presented by 
the same people in the course of decamping to new 
pastures. A tribe, comprising fften a thousand 
people, divided into a number of separate families, 
and these again consisting of persons of every age, 
sex, and condition, together with an immense reti- 
nue of flocks, and all the appurtenances belonging to 
their way of living, suggests the idea of a motley 
2* 



18 EASTERN MANNERS. 

assemblage, the marching of which over a large tract 
of country, seems inevitably attended with the great- 
est confusion and disorder. But so accustomed are 
these pastoral people to an itinerant mode of life, 
and so well acquainted with the habits and manage- 
ment of their cattle, that no sooner are their tents 
struck, and the signal given for departure, than each 
with the greatest expedition falls into his place, ap- 
plies himself with alacrity to the part he has to bear 
in the removal of the camp, and the whole proces- 
sion moves forward with a regularity as beautiful 
as it is surprising. The lead is taken by the sheep 
and goats, marshalled under their respective herds- 
men ; and, notwithstanding the want of roads and 
enclosures, the art of these devoted shepherds en- 
ables them to conquer the difficulty of keeping 
their vagrant charge in the line of march, by going 
first themselves, and calling every now and then to 
some male of the flock, generally a he-goat, which 
they have taught to answer to a name, and the 
movements of which, as he takes the lead, are im- 
plicitly followed by the rest. The next place is oc- 
cupied by the beasts of burden — the camels and the 
asses, laden with the furniture of the tents, or bear- 
ing those members of the tribe who, from age or 
sickness, are unable to walk. These again are 
succeeded by a band of old men, women, boys, 
and girls, the stoutest and most active of whom are 
charged with carrying the infants in their arms, or 
on their backs : — while the Sheik and heads of the 
principal families, mounted on horseback, occupy 
the rear, and never quit that position, unless they 
are required to step aside to bring up some strag- 
glers of the flock, or to ride forward and report if 
all is right and safe in the advanced divisions of the 
party. In this manner they proceed, a space being 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 19 

left between each successive family, of a hundred 
yards, or of such extent as may prevent the risk of 
any of the sheep or camels of one division straying 
from it, and mingling with those of another; and 
the same order is observed, till their arrival at the 
intended station allows the tents to be pitched, and 
the bleating flocks to range at will over the pastures. 
From necessary attention to the safety of the young 
and tender, both of the families and flocks, this pas- 
toral procession moves tardily along, and several 
days often elapse before it reaches the place of 
destination — but it is of little consequence to these 
wandering people where or when they make their 
intermediate stages, since their whole care is en- 
grossed with their cattle, with whose slow move- 
ments they patiently keep pace, and, provided 
these have herbs and bushes to graze on by the 
way, and the supply of water they carry with them 
lasts, they can halt at any place, and in an hour's 
time compose themselves for the night. 

Long before sun-rise, they are again in motion, 
and all hands are busily employed in preparing to 
renew their journey. The men hastily go round 
to milk the females of their flocks, and undo the 
ropes that are fastened on the knee-joints of the old 
camels and goats by night ; while the women oc- 
cupy themselves, in striking and wrapping up the 
tent, and making the camels successively advance 
and kneel down to receive the simple furniture on 
their backs. These preparations completed, they 
commence their march, observing from day to day 
the same order and regularity, till they come in 
sight of their principal halting place — when, amid 
the bleating of the flocks, glad to return to their 
old pastures, the attendants move forward, and 
with the greatest expedition unload the camels, 



20 EASTERN MANNERS. 

unfurl the tents, and arrange the water-skins ana 
other household stuff, on the many-hooked pillar 
that stands in the centre, or the mat that is spread 
on the ground. 

The immense numbers of cattle transported in 
this manner over the plains of the East, will ap-.« 
pear incredible to those whose notions of a flock 
are formed on the comparatively small scale on 
which pastoral concerns are conducted amongst us. 
But in those regions of Asia that are frequented by 
the Arab shepherds, where either the people are 
too indolent to undertake, or the ground too sterile 
to reward, the labours of cultivation, the breeding 
of cattle is carried on to an almost unlimited extent ; 
and from the habits of these people, who rarely 
make use of animal food, and have few opportuni- 
ties of disposing of the produce of their flocks, but 
at the neighbouring towns and villages, where the 
sales bear little proportion to the annual increase, 
their stock does not suffer much diminution ; inso- 
much, that some Arab tribes, which can muster 
but a few hundred men and horses, are said to be 
possessed of many thousand camels, and a still 
larger number of sheep and black cattle. A more 
remarkable proof of the almost countless flocks 
which these wandering shepherds sometimes lead 
about with them, is afforded in the travels of Char- 
din, who had the good fortune to witness the emi- 
gration of a pastoral tribe at no great distance from 
Aleppo. The chief of that horde had more than 
ten led horses, adorned with rich trappings of 
solid gold and silver, and was accompanied by 
many subordinate shepherds, all of them mounted 
in an equally superb manner. About an hour 
after his wives, and those of his principal attend- 
ants, passed along in a row, some of whom were 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 21 

seated in covered vehicles, and others rode on 
horseback or on camels. But the imposing part 
of the scene, which produced astonishment and 
even terror on the mind of Chardin, was the vast 
number of the flocks — the whole country for ten 
leagues being covered with them ; and some of the 
principal attendants assured the traveller, that they 
had altogether under their charge four hundred 
thousand beasts of burden, camels, horses, oxen, 
and asses, and three millions of sheep and goats. 

The task of providing food for such a multitude 
of animals, which, enormous as it may appear, 
considered as the property of a single individual, 
does not exceed what may often be found in many 
parts of the East, is one main cause of the differ- 
ence that exists between the habits of these pas- 
toral people and those of their more stationary 
neighbours, who cultivate the soil ; and hence, 
how strongly soever the former might be disposed 
to yield to the inclination that seems natural to 
man, to adopt the comforts of settled life, and es- 
tablish themselves in a permanent abode, they are 
prevented from gratifying it by the nature of their 
condition, which lays them under the necessity of 
frequently removing from one place to another. 
Such overgrown flocks soon cause the most abun- 
dant pastures to disappear ; and the supply of new 
ones, as the old become exhausted, which, with 
these keepers of sheep, must take precedence of all 
other cares, both occasions a perpetual shifting of 
the scene, and implies the possession of a range of 
territory vastly more extensive than would be re- 
quired for the same number of people, if they dedi- 
cated themselves to the culture of the fields. Their 
life is thus spe*nt in a constant succession of jour- 
neyings, their stay in any place being always re« 



22 EASTERN MANNERS. 

gulated by its capability of affording subsistence to 
their cattle; and, strangers as they consequently 
are to those local attachments which bind the heart 
of man to a spot hallowed by the recollections of a 
long residence, or that has been trained to beauty 
and productiveness under his fostering care, they 
rest and decamp as circumstances require — with 
equal indifference whether their tents are spread 
within reach of an inhabited place, or hid in the 
depths of a trackless solitude — traverse regions 
which they one day enliven with the picturesque 
beauty of an arcadian scene, to be left the next a 
lifeless and desolate waste ; and move about in this 
ceaseless manner, finding a home for themselves, 
and food for their beasts, in places at one time 
widely remote from their encampments at another. 
Far and wide, however, as their wanderings are, 
these nomadic hordes do not enjoy the license of 
indiscriminate pasture, wherever chance may direct 
their course; — a license which, besides the risk it 
might expose them to, in the boundless regions 
they frequent, of coming to spots either totally 
barren, or possessed but of scanty resources would 
produce a constant collision between rival tribes 
engaged in the same occupation, and shifting about 
by the same necessities. To obviate such conse- 
quences, every tribe has a portion of territory, 
to which, either by conquest or immemorial pos- 
session, it claims the exclusive right, although not 
a single individual can call a foot of it his own, and 
the boundaries of which, as there are no inclosures, 
are indicated by the natural features of the country. 
Where the herbage is rich and plentiful, as on the 
spacious plains that lie on the banks of the Eu- 
phrates, the Jordan, and the Nile, on which the 
grass, reaching almost the stature of a man, is so 



PATRIABCHAL LIFE. 23 

luxuriant that an ox or a camel may find as much 
within its reach, while lying, as may suffice for its 
subsistence a whole day — the tract which a tribe 
requires for pastoral purposes is comparatively 
small ; and, in such places, many tribes are found 
ranging with their respective flocks, at no great 
distance from each other. But where, on the con- 
trary, the country is of a sterile character, and but 
a few happy spots here and there exhibit the wel- 
come signs of vegetation — such as in the interior 
of the Arabian desert, which is frequented by the 
Bedouin Arabs, the space over which a tribe is 
obliged to traverse, embraces a wide extent, and 
one may travel over it many a livelong day, with- 
out alighting even on the tents of the isolated peo- 
ple to whom it belongs. Divided into several 
camps, which are stationed at a convenient dis- 
tance from each other, for the purpose of spread- 
ing over all the surrounding meadows, a tribe 
travels over the whole of such a district in succes- 
sion, as the seasons advance, or the pastures are 
exhausted ; selecting such spots for their encamp- 
ment as are eligible for the convenience of shade 
and water, to which, in hot. and arid countries, at- 
tention is always directed, as of paramount impor- 
tance in the choice of a settlement, and the situa- 
tion of which is, to these experienced wanderers, 
well known, by the piles of stones they rear on 
them, to serve as landmarks, when a future occa- 
sion calls them to migrate thither. 

It was no other than this Bedouin kind of life 
that was led by the ancient patriarchs, whose travels 
and adventures recorded in sacred history, consti- 
tute the earliest knowledge to which the youthful 
mind is introduced, but of which, from there being 
nothing analogous in the constitution of European 



24 EASTERN MANNERS. 

society, few readers of the Bible among us, car. 
form any distinct conception, either of the manner 
or the end. To enter fully into the spirit of their 
history, it must be borne in mind, these venera- 
ble fathers of the world, were pastoral chieftains, 
equally, or perhaps more powerful and wealthy 
than the Sheiks who now support the hereditary 
honours of the desert, and that the vast establish- 
ments of which they were the heads, presented the 
same appearance, and were characterized by the 
same peculiarity of manners, as are exemplified by 
the tribes of wanderers in those parts of the world 
at the present day. It was in a khyma or house of 
hair-cloth — neither more durable nor more magni- 
ficent than theirs, that the ancestors of the He- 
brews displayed the hospitality, and treasured up 
the wealth that placed them on a level with con- 
temporary kings ; and it was in a smaller tent, by 
themselves, or sometimes only in a back apartment, 
formed by a curtain in the statelier tents of their 
husbands, that they led their homely lives, who 
were born to the high destiny of being the mothers 
of many nations. It was in the slow and cautious 
manner of an Arab horde, that the " father of the 
faithful" transported his flocks and his little ones in 
his distant and uncertain emigration from the land 
of his birth; and it was in the same manner, that 
after their arrival in Canaan, he and his descend- 
ants appropriated to themselves a portion of its 
unoccupied plains — within which they confined 
their movements, and over which they spread 
themselves from time to time, as each quarter was 
stripped of its verdure by the browsing of the cattle. 
Grateful for the abundance of their springs, and the 
refreshment of their oaken thickets, they make 
Succoth, Moreh, Bethel, and Mamre, their usual 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 25 

halting-place, as often as they revisited the dis- 
tricts in which these stages lay, and to which their 
return was the more frequent, as the prolific cha- 
racter of the land of promise did not require their 
circuit to be large. But, between the ancient and 
the present race of Scenite wanderers, there was 
this great and memorable difference — that the pa- 
triarchs never broke up their temporary dwellings 
without leaving behind them the traces of their 
piety — and, amid the many interesting views ex- 
hibited of their primitive society, there is not a 
greater charm in the story of those venerable shep v 
herds than this — that, wander where they might, 
and pitch their tents where occasion might offer, 
the land marks they erected to guide their future 
journeyings through the trackless desert, were 
always monuments of praise and gratitude to the 
God who had protected them in the land of the 
stranger. 

" They pastured on from verdant stage to stage, 
Where fields and fountains fresh could best engage ; 
Toil was not then ; of nothing took they heed, 
But with wild beasts the sylvan war to wage, 
And o'er vast plains their flocks and herds to feed ; 
Blest sons of nature they; true golden age indeed." 

From the preceding sketch of the state and habits 
of the modern Arabs, who are the genuine repre- 
sentatives of the ancient dwellers in tents, we are 
made acquainted with the circumstances that occa- 
sioned and regulated those journeys, the detail of 
which occupies so large a portion of patriarchal his. 
tory. The same causes, however, that kept them 
wandering from place to place, and gave them the 
right of pasturage within a certain range of the open 
pastoral lands of Canaan, will not explain some fea- 



26 EASTERN MANNERS. 

tures in the first story that occurs in the life of Abra- 
ham, in which that patriarch is represented as de- 
parting altogether out of the track, to which, by no- 
madic laws, he had a customary right, and trans- 
ferring the scene of his adventures, for a time, to the 
banks of the Nile. Gen. xii. 10. The cause of that 
emigration was a severe drought, that had dried up 
all the herbage of Canaan ; and as Egypt alone 
was on that, and other such occasions, exempted 
from the general calamity, to that country Abraham 
was reduced to the necessity of applying for relief. 
But, instead of adopting the expedient of his grand- 
son, when a similar necessity threatened the follow- 
ing age — that of sending a deputation of his family 
to purchase a temporary supply of corn, he formed 
the bolder purpose of transporting his whole tribe 
to that distant land, never doubting, it would seem, 
but that he would be allowed to traverse its fertile 
meadows with the same freedom as the mountains 
and valleys that lay within his customary settle- 
ment. To understand this, it must be borne in 
mind, that as agriculture has never been there car- 
ried on in the same spirit, or on the same exten- 
sive scale as with us, large portions are consequently 
left in a state of nature, and are fit only for the 
breeding of cattle ; and as these, notwithstanding 
their being in the neighbourhood of inhabited 
places, are never regarded as the exclusive posses- 
sion of the people to whom they are contiguous, 
but lie open and accessible to all, the natives of the 
East are altogether strangers to the ideas that pre- 
vail among us in regard to public pastures, and take 
the benefit of promiscuous pasturage everywhere, 
unprevented by the claims of a privileged commu- 
nity, and laid under no restrictions but such as 
arise from the nature and extent of the place. Re- 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 27 

gions which, from the remotest times have been 
occupied by an uninterrupted succession of inhabi- 
tants, contain immense tracts of such waste lands, 
which, as from their situation they are richer, and 
retain their verdure for a longer period, than the 
poor and scanty pastures of the desert, invite the 
keepers of flocks and herds who live on the bor- 
ders, and are resorted to by these people during 
the summer heats that burn up the grass in their 
own less favoured regions. Not only in the Bar- 
bary States, in Syria, and Palestine, where the 
towns are in many parts few and far between, but 
in Egypt also, which, considering its extent, is one 
of the most populous countries in the East, these 
pastoral people are dispersed all over the country ; 
which thus presents the strange appearance of 
maintaining, besides the settled inhabitants, a vast 
number of others totally dissimilar in their pursuits 
and manners of life, and who, refusing all allegiance 
to the government of the country, are swayed by 
chiefs and laws peculiar to themselves. Tribes 
of them arrive every season, allured by the fertility 
of the country ; and there is not a more interesting 
spectacle any where to be seen, than is there pre- 
sented in the months of November, December, and 
January, when the whole country is strewed with 
the tents and flocks of these wanderers, who come 
from some hundred miles distance, to enjoy the rich 
meadows of the land of the Nile ; and are found 
sometimes on the mountains and more thinly in- 
habited districts, and not unfrequently also in the 
vicinity of towns and villages, feeding their cattle 
on the circumjacent pastures, which are either yield- 
ed by the inhabitants to a people whom experience 
has taught them it is more prudent to conciliate 
than to contend with ; or, as is commonly the case 



28 EASTERN MANNERS. 

with the gentler and less warlike tribes, are farmed 
for a small tribute, which is paid out of the produce 
of their flocks. In selecting the places which they 
thus frequent for a time, convenience leads every 
tribe to prefer those that are nearest their own set- 
tlement in the desert, so that, from their appear- 
ance in the same quarter every successive season, 
they acquire a sort of local existence like the rest 
of the inhabitants. But by whatever tenure, or for 
whatever length of time they occupy these pasture- 
lands, they hold them without acknowledging any 
feudal superiority on the part of the neighbouring 
Pachas or rulers ; and quit them again for their 
deserts at the end of the season as free and inde- 
pendent as before. So ancient and established is 
this custom of the Arabs, that the inhabitants of 
Egypt, and the other countries which they visit in 
this manner, trust to the periodical return of their 
pastoral caravans to supply their markets with manu- 
factures of wool, and with sheep and camels — and 
so great are the numbers of these people, that it is 
calculated, by an intelligent traveller, that if all the 
various tribes that are dispersed over Egypt in the 
course of a season were collected, they would amount 
to not less than two millions. Such usages, which, 
however singular they appear, have prevailed from 
the earliest times in the eastern quarters of the globe, 
afford a satisfactory license to pasture his flocks and 
herds under the very brow of the palace and capital 
of the Pharaohs, which Abraham took when he en- 
tered Egypt a stranger, the chief of a powerful and 
independent tribe. The knowledge that the same 
privilege is enjoyed by the Arab shepherds of the 
present day, will lessen our wonder that the pa- 
triarch was honoured with the friendship of a na- 
tive prince, no way jealous of his presence within 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 29 

his own dominions, and allowed by the people to 
pitch his tents without molestation on the meadows 
that skirted their cities. Nor is the idea improba- 
ble, that, although we have an account of only- 
one journey of Abraham into Egypt recorded, it 
would seem, chiefly for the circumstances that oc- 
curred in the course of it to try his virtue, he 
might, like those who still lead the same kind of 
life, have been in the habit of frequently returning 
thither when an unpropitious season had blighted 
the vegetation of Canaan — since we find him, like 
them, trading with the natives of Egypt, and by 
successfully disposing there of the produce of his 
flocks, laying the foundation of that wealth, which, 
through the divine blessing, was the means of rais- 
ing his family to their promised power and in- 
fluence. 

From Egypt the patriarch returned to range once 
more with his flocks over the meadows of Canaan, 
his constant companion being Lot — the only mem- 
ber of his family who had followed his fortunes, 
and whose filial devotedness had endeared him to 
the aged chief, long before he could transfer his 
affections to a child of his own. According to 
the universal custom of the wandering tribes, that 
young Sheik had received a flock of his own, to 
commence his fortune, and which, as well as his 
uncle's, had, through the blessing of God, multi- 
plied so greatly, that the plains around Bethel, rich 
and extensive as they were, did not afford sufficient 
pasture for both ; and unpleasant collisions, hav- 
ing frequently occurred between the servants of the 
two patriarchs, led to the withdrawal of Lot's cat- 
tle to a different track from that of his venerable 
uncle. Gen. xiii. 7. These contests did not origi- 
nate in any local or accidental circumstances, but 
3* 



30 EASTERN MANNERS. 

arose from the state of the pasture-lands on which 
they were in the habit of encamping ; and as these 
are of the same character as they were in the days 
of Abraham, we find them still fruitful in producing 
strife and contention among the shepherds of Pales- 
tine. There the fields are never enclosed, or at 
least can seldom boast of any thing, in the shape of 
a fence, better than a narrow ridge, to mark the 
boundary of neighbouring tribes, so that the cattle 
of one proprietor are ever in danger of trespassing 
on the meadows of another ; and where the shep- 
herds are careless and unprincipled, such trespasses 
are of very frequent occurrence. " The time," 
says Mr. Roberts, " when most disputes take place, 
is about harvest time, when the grass left amongst 
the stubble is long and green. The herdsmen at 
that time become very tenacious, and beat the ox, 
if within reach of stick or stone, until he gets into 
his own field. Then the men of the other party 
start up on seeing their cattle beaten, and assail 
each other, vociferating the most opprobrious epi- 
thets ; the hands are thrown about in every direc- 
tion ; one takes up a stone, or spits upon the ground 
in token of contempt, and then comes the contest. 
The long hair is soon dishevelled, and the weaker 
fall beneath their antagonists ; they bite, and scratch, 
and beat, till, in their cruel rage they nearly de- 
stroy one another." 

After the departure of Lot and his dependent 
tribe, Abraham continued to dwell under his favour- 
ite oak at Mamre ; — when suddenly the calm tran- 
quillity of this pastoral scene is disturbed by the 
sound of war in the camp, and the venerable Sheik, 
whom habit and age seem to have qualified only 
for the peaceful toils of the fold, appears instinct with 
the fire and energy of a youthful warrior, scouring 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 31 

the plain at the head of a band of trusty dependants, 
and bearing away the spoils of victory in the first 
battle recorded in the annals of authentic history. 
Gen. xiv. This ancient invasion, formed proba- 
bly on as large a scale as was customary at that 
early period, owes all its formidable appearance to 
its being associated in the mind of the reader with 
the elaborate manoeuvres and systematic details 
of modern warfare; — whereas the whole circum- 
stances of it, the rapid sweep of the invaders 
across the country, the confinement of their ravages 
to a single spot, their hurried flight with the 
plunder they had seized, the careless security in 
which they were surprised, and the termination of 
hostilities on the result of a night's reprisals — all 
show this celebrated war to have been nothing more 
than a tumultuary skirmish, one of these predatory 
incursions, which are so prevalent among the Arab 
tribes, and instances of which are so frequently to 
be met with in all books of History and travels re- 
lating to that people. The frays arising out of the 
marauding expeditions of the Arabs, are no less 
simple and of brief duration, than that which en- 
gaged the petty Emirs of Canaan, in the time of 
Abraham, and are terminated in a manner precisely 
the same as that in which the renowned patriarch 
accomplished the defeat of the confederate kings. 
For as personal courage and swiftness are the 
qualities most requisite in their desultory kind of 
warfare, and every one, in protecting his flocks, is 
from habit and circumstances a warrior, they are 
ready at a moment's warning to take the field ; so 
that when a hostile band, roving in quest of spoil, 
has made an attack on the straggling and distant 
branches of a neighbouring tribe — no sooner is the 
offence discovered, than the injured party mount 



32 EASTERN MANNERS. 

their horses, and having fallen on the track of the 
robbers, continue the pursuit until they come up 
with the enemy — which, notwithstanding the ra- 
pidity with which they scour the plain, may not 
be till several days have elapsed, so quickly do the 
plunderers retreat from the scene of their depreda- 
tions. Where the forces are equal on both sides, 
the pursuers advance boldly up to the attack, and, 
by means of threats and angry altercation, gene- 
rally succeed, without bloodshed, in regaining their 
property. But in cases where they dread being 
overmatched by superior numbers, the plan is 
for the pursuers to hover in the rear of the enemy, 
and then dividing themselves into small parties, 
under cover of night, surprise them at different 
points; and it rarely, if ever, happens that the 
enterprise is not crowned with success. The first 
shock generally determines the affair, as these peo- 
ple take to flight if but a few of their number be 
killed. The vanquished seeing the only means of 
safety to lie in flight, abandon their booty, and gal- 
lop over the naked plain to seek an asylum among 
their own allies; while the victors, satisfied with 
their success, and the recovery of their friends and 
effects, return to their usual haunts, and forget the 
toils of their expedition amid the tranquil pleasures 
of the tent. Of the rapidity and insignificance of 
these Arab wars, a remarkable example is afforded 
in his history of Mekrami, Sheik of Nedjeran, who 
in the time of Niebuhr, had made himself formida- 
ble by his military genius and achievements, not 
merely to his neighbours, but even to distant princes, 
and who, like Tidal of old, seems to have aspired at 
universal dominion. Not long after his ascent to 
power, he introduced his troops, by small detach- 
ments, into the provinces adjoining his own ; and, 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. d4 

extending his enterprises by degrees, in the course 
of two years traversed the whole of Arabia, al- 
though his attacks were made without any regular 
plan of conquest, and his army was very incon- 
siderable. The rapidity of those expeditions, which 
it would be altogether impossible for a European 
army, encumbered with heavy baggage and artil- 
lery, to accomplish in so short a time, over strange 
and distant countries, will appear less surprising.. 
when it is considered that the Arabs, light-armed 
and almost naked, while their scanty provisions are 
borne on camels, are capable of undertaking the 
longest journeys without fatigue. One chief alone, 
the Sherifte of Sana, dared at last to oppose the 
progress of the mighty conqueror ; and having 
levied six hundred men, a force almost triple that 
of Mek rami's he resolved to give him battie. But 
that general, aware of his inferior numbers, re- 
solved to achieve by stratagem, what he knew was 
impracticable in the open field, and coming upon 
the enemy by night, attacked the camp in different 
places, and killed six of the followers of the SherifTe, 
upon which a panic seized his troops, and he fled 
along with them and shut himself up in despair in 
his palace. Giovanni Finati gives an account of a 
similar adventure, which he lately witnessed in 
Arabia. Whilst he and his friends were eating in 
the tent of a hospitable chief, an alarm was sud- 
denly raised that some of the flocks had been carried 
off by a marauding tribe, and their hosts flew im- 
mediately to arms. Nor had many hours elapsed 
before they returned with the stolen cattle, which 
the plunderers had abandoned the moment the 
owners were seen in pursuit of them. Nor is the 
brief and tumultuary character of this ancient war 
in Canaan, the only feature of resemblance it bears 



34 EASTERN MANNERS. 

to the skirmishes of the modern Arabs. For to de- 
fend themselves against the incursions of their more 
lawless and roving neighbours, tribes which are con- 
tiguous, and which are generally connected by the 
ties of blood and friendship, form associations among 
themselves for mutual defence, by which they en- 
gage to bring the common force to the assistance 
of any one of the confederacy that may happen to 
be attacked. 

A very interesting example of this is given by 
D'Arvieux, in the case of some tribes that lay 
in the north of Palestine, and with whose habits 
that traveller, from a residence of several months 
among them, had an opportunity of making himself 
acquainted. They were eighteen in number, and 
always kept near each other, encamping at no 
greater distance than two or three miles, and all 
removing together every month, and sometimes 
every fortnight, as the cattle needed fresh pastures, 
in order to be able to assemble with ease in case of 
an emergency. While D'Arvieux resided among 
them, he had an opportunity of witnessing the bene- 
fits resulting from their confederacy. An attack 
having been suddenly made on one of the remotest 
tribes of the union, messengers were immediately 
despatched to the other seventeen, who, summon- 
ing to arms as many of their people as they could 
spare from the flocks, joined in a spirited pursuit 
of the enemy — and with such expedition had they 
marched, that ere morning dawned, they were on 
their way back again, with the sheep and camels 
they had lost. What a lively commentary does 
this afford on the state and habits of the ancient 
tribes of Canaan, when similar intelligence was 
brought to Abraham of the capture of Lot and his 
tribe. The aged chief, together with his youthful 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 35 

allies, Aner, Eshcol, and Mam re, hastily undertook 
that midnight enterprise, which happily terminated 
in the restoration of his relative to liberty and inde- 
pendence.* 

During one of the periodical sojourns of the pa- 
triarch at Mamre, an incident occurred, the rela- 
tion of which presents a most interesting picture of 
his domestic manners. Gen. xviii. The occasion 
was the unexpected appearance of strangers, who 
came to throw themselves on his hospitality. It 
is well known that noon in the Eastern regions is 
a period when all things are generally hushed in 
repose — the oppressive heats of the sun, which 
make it inconvenient, and even dangerous, to take 
any active exercise abroad at that sultry season, 
having induced the almost universal practice of 
suspending the pursuits of industry and pleasure, 
and dedicating that portion of the day to rest. It 
is then, too, that travellers, who generally com- 
mence their labours at sunrise, begin to look out 
for some hospitable place, where they may enjoy 
the necessary shelter and refreshment ; and seldom 
or never does it happen that the appeal of the way- 
faring man is made at the door of an Oriental in 
vain ; for, as there are no houses of public enter- 
tainment, private hospitality is required to open her 
stores ; and the natives, who are taught by expe- 

* Abraham is said to have armed three hundred and 
eighteen trained servants, born in his own house, for this 
expedition. It is probable that he was the owner of a 
great many more slaves than these, as he must have left 
some behind to take care of the flocks. Nor need we be 
surprised at the patriarch's possessing so great a num- 
ber, since many powerful chieftains in the present day 
have more than one thousand, the children and descend- 
ants of their slaves, who always are considered his vas- 
sals. 



36 EASTERN MANNERS. 

rience the dangers and privations with which travel- 
ling in these tropical climates is attended, are urged 
to the practice of this amiable virtue, by the vener- 
able and universally known maxim that "a stran- 
ger is a gift from heaven." Accordingly, in every 
village throughout the East, and particularly among 
the wandering people who live in the camp, there 
is always a pavilion established for the reception 
and entertainment of strangers ; and no sooner does 
one of that descriptiou appear, let his rank and cir- 
cumstances be what they may, than notice is im- 
mediately conveyed to the Sheik. He, as the head 
and representative of his tribe, goes forth to meet 
the visitor, and, with every token of profound sub- 
mission and respect, bids him welcome, and treats 
him with the most assiduous attentions, till the 
cool of the declining day, inviting the traveller to 
resume his journey, obliges him to take a reluctant 
farewell of his generous entertainers. Such has 
been the immemorial practice of the East ; and it 
could not therefore, be a matter of surprise to 
Abraham, when, at the burning hour of noon, 
three travellers were seen passing the booths of 
his servants, and bending their way to the chief's, 
in the centre of the camp. He at once perceived 
their object to be that of seeking a temporary asy- 
lum ; and, in the true spirit of Arab hospitality, 
hastened to bid them welcome, and to offer them 
the various refreshments which the heat and toil of 
a journey in the East make a necessary and grate- 
ful part of the attentions which travellers receive. 

There can be no doubt, that it was Abraham's 
desire to honour the occasion with all the liberality 
and careful preparation of which his habits and cir- 
cumstances would admit; and, in judging his con- 
duct by the standard of manners that have always 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 37 

prevailed among the pastoral people, with whom 
he must be classed, it appears from all the accounts 
furnished by modern travellers, who have had an 
opportunity of enjoying the hospitality of the Arabs, 
that Abraham's reception of his unknown visitors 
was wanting in none of the tokens of respectful at- 
tention which the most substantial and generous 
among that people are accustomed to pay to their 
most honoured guests. In the first place, his seem- 
ing negligence in leaving them to remain at the 
tree, instead of offering them the comforts of his 
tent, arises solely from our ideas, that that treat- 
ment must be unkind and inhospitable, which is not 
accompanied with a welcome invitation to enter the 
house — whereas, in the East, the feeling as to re- 
spectful usage is quite the reverse, nothing being 
more common in these genial and sunny regions, 
than for people to sit and take their repasts under 
the shade of a tree. Nor is this the practice of 
travellers only, who are obliged, in many parts of 
their journey, to content themselves with a tempo- 
rary residence of that sort, for want of a better ac- 
commodation. It is an established and daily cus- 
tom with the people of these countries to enjoy 
themselves in the open air. For, as shade is an 
essential article of luxury with them, they are al- 
ways careful to fix their residence in the vicinity 
of trees, whose thick and spreading branches may 
screen them from the fierce rays of the sun ; and 
so fond are they of enjoying the coolness which 
these afford, that their houses and tents, although 
resorted to for the purposes of sleep and cooking, 
are never, in the sultry season, used for sitting or 
dining in during the day — all classes pre fe ring the 
enjoyment of social pleasures on the green sward, 
and amid the refreshing breezes that play through 
4 



38 EASTERN MANNERS. 

the grove, to the close and stifling confinement of a 
covered apartment. Princes and chiefs, as well as 
the meanest of their slaves, are accustomed to make 
the shade of trees their favourite lounging places ; 
— and not only do they recreate themselves in this 
manner during the easy and familiar hours of an 
ordinary meal, but entertainments on a large scale, 
conducted with state and formality, and accom- 
panied with all the various amusements with which 
the Orientals enliven their intercourse, are frequent- 
ly partaken of in places where there is no other 
canopy than what is spread by a group of lofty 
trees, and the luxury of which the languishing 
native, who pants "for a boundless contiguity of 
shade," would not exchange for all the con- 
veniences of the most spacious and splendid palace. 
Thus Pococke, when he travelled with the gover- 
nor of Faiume, who, during his progress through 
his dominions, was entertained by the gratuitous 
contributions of the people, and received every- 
where with such demonstrations of respect, that he 
might have had welcome access to the best houses 
in Arabia, never resorted to any other place for his 
entertainments than the shade of a tree ; and the 
same traveller, when he was among the Maronites, 
saw the chiefs of their greatest families regaling 
themselves under the shelter of the same natural 
covering. Thus, too, Belzoni found an Egyptian 
Aga, with a numerous retinue, seated on a mat, 
and feasting beneath a cluster of palm-trees; and 
another traveller was treated by the head of the 
convent of Mount Sinai, one of the richest and 
most flourishing in the East — to a banquet under 
some olive trees in the neighbourhood of that place. 
These examples, which might be multiplied to an 
indefinite number, show, that however contrary to 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 39 

our customs it may be for persons of respectability 
and opulence, to have formal entertainments in the 
open air, or at the foot of a tree, it is quite conge- 
nial to the modern Oriental taste ; and Abraham, 
in allowing his guests to partake of his liberality, 
and to depart without ever inviting them into his 
tent, was treating them in a manner which the state 
and customs of his country rendered consistent with 
the most generous hospitality. 

Nor should it be regarded as any indication of 
poverty or meanness in the general style of the 
patriarch's establishment, that he could produce 
nothing in the way of refreshments to the strangers 
on their first arrival, and that the toil-worn travellers 
were under the necessity of waiting in their un- 
comfortable state of hunger and fatigue, till the 
bread was baked, and the calf was killed, that were 
to furnish the viands of which their repast consist- 
ed. The deficiency arose, not from any irregu- 
larity or improvidence in his domestic arrange- 
ments, nor from any parsimonious habits un- 
worthy of the princely rank he held, but from the 
character and habits of the country, where, in con- 
sequence of the burning heats of an Eastern climate, 
which do not admit of preserving provisions from 
one meal to another, it is necessary to delay the 
preparation of victuals till they are about to be 
used. Nor is this practice attended with any in- 
convenience ; for such is the habitual temperance 
of the Bedouins— a few dates or raisins soaked in 
melted butter, and a dish oileban or curdled milk, 
a little ball of rice, or an egg, constituting their 
staple food — that the articles with which their 
table is furnished, can be easily made ready, and 
are always at hand ; while their simple mode of 
cooking, when they are obliged to have recourse to 



40 EASTERN MANNERS. 

it for the entertainment of strangers, prevents any 
uncomfortable delay in supplying the wants of 
those who may come to put their hospitality in 
sudden requisition. They have only to mingle 
some flour and water into dough, and baking it 
into wafer-like cakes, to place these between two 
iron plates, or to lay them on the glowing embers, 
to produce their bread, which they are in the habit 
of eating the moment it is taken from the fire ; and, 
in regard to flesh, their fondness for it when newly 
killed, on account of its being thought more tender, 
and their custom of cutting it into small pieces, to 
be boiled or stewed, as all their meat is, makes 
the preparation of their animal food a process not 
less expeditious. The bread and meat thus hastily 
and imperfectly cooked, have an appearance and a 
taste, which, it must be confessed, long habit alone 
can conquer, and to which few but natives are 
ever thoroughly reconciled.* It is interesting, 
however, to learn from the testimony of those who 
have visited those wandering people, who lived 
like Abraham in the camp, that their manner of 
living and of receiving strangers is precisely the 
same as that which the patriarch practised more 
than four thousand years ago. When Dr. Shaw 
was travelling in Barbary, he came one day, after 
a fatiguing journey, to a tribe of Arabs, the chief of 



* So universal is the taste for eating flesh, when newly 
killed, that the people of the East affect to be disgusted 
with Europeans for keeping fowls six or eight hours 
before they are cooked ; and say that they are fond of 
eating dead flesh. — Mr. Roberts met with some Eng- 
lishmen resident in the East, who had become so ac- 
customed to those things, that they had chickens grilled 
and on their table, which a quarter of an hour before, 
were running in the yard. 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 41 

whom meeting him before he had reached the tent, 
welcomed him and his party in the most pressing 
manner to alight. They complied with the invita- 
tion of the hospitable Sheik, and were presented 
on their arrival with a bowl of milk and a basket 
of figs, raisins, and dates, to blunt the edge of their 
appetites, and while they were occupied with this, 
he left them to fetch from his flock a lamb, half of 
which was immediately seethed by his wife, and 
served up with rice in the form of a pilau, while 
the rest was made kobab — that is, cut into small 
pieces and roasted.* When the last British em- 
bassy to Persia was waiting, according to etiquette, 
for admission to the court, some gentlemen of the 
suite desirous of seeing the country, and acquiring 
a knowledge of the manners of the people, made 
frequent excursions in the neighbourhood of the 
city. During one of these they entered a plain 
covered with the black tents and cattle of the 
Elauts, a tribe of wandering Tartars, and had an 
opportunity of learning that the pastoral people 
who are scattered over Persia, are animated with 
the same ardent spirit of hospitality as their breth- 
ren of the camp in other lands. The senior of the 
tribe, an old man, full of fire and activity, and with 
a beard as white as the driven snow, came out to 
welcome them to his tents with such kindness, yet 

* Came relates an amusing incident, illustrative of 
the extraordinary temperance of the Eastern people in 
regard to flesh. When he and his fellow travellers 
were dining one day in the house of an Arab, a native 
who came in during the repast, and who seemed to be 
marking the quantity of broiled lamb they made dis- 
appear, expressed himself astonished when one of the 
Englishmen began to carve a fowl that was on the 
table. — "What!" said he, seizing the stranger's arm, 
"eat more still?" 

4* 



42 EASTERN MANNERS. 

with such respect that his sincerity could not be 
mistaken, and no sooner was it announced that 
strangers were approaching than the whole camp 
was in motion. Some led the horses of the visiters 
to the best pastures — others spread mats for them 
to sit upon, one was despatched to the flock to 
bring a fat lamb, which the women immediately 
set about cooking, and the gentlemen had not sat 
long before two large dishes of stewed lamb were 
placed before them, accompanied with several basins 
of soup. The following, though of the same pur- 
port as the above, is added, in consequence of the 
striking resemblance of some of the particulars 
mentioned, to the ancient feast of Abraham. A 
party of English gentlemen, who were lately travel- 
ling in Palestine, and were within a few days' 
journey of Jerusalem, found themselves in a wide, 
wild, and lonely glen, without provisions, and with 
a guide who had little knowledge of that part of the 
country. Wandering about in distress, they 
espied, at a short distance, a solitary tent, which 
they approached, and made known their situation 
to the owner of it, who received them with the 
usual salute of " Peace be unto you." He was a 
person of great dignity, and the most captivating 
simplicity of manners — the proprietor of large 
flocks of sheep and goats, the greater part of 
which were scattered over the neighbouring moun- 
tains, under the custody of his servants, while he 
himself was detained at home with some family 
concerns. " Stop," said the generous shepherd, 
" and partake of the best that I have to give you. 
In this sultry weather, it may not be agreeable to 
you to remain in my close and smoky cabin. On 
yonder verdant bank, I shall cause dinner to be 
served to you, and you will repose with pleasure 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 43 

beneath the shade of that tall overshadowing palm." 
So saying, he conducted them to the place of enter- 
tainment, after which, he went to the flock to select 
a young kid, and calling to his people, one of the 
women came out, who undertook to cook it, and 
carried it with her to the sanctuary of her tent, 
which none of the strangers were permitted to de- 
file with their presence. In a short time the din- 
ner was brought out on large wooden bowls, con- 
sisting of meat and a fowl, broken into pieces, and 
swimming in hot water, to which were added a 
bowl of new milk, and some hot unleavened cakes, 
baked on the hearth. One remarkable circumstance 
in this entertainment must not be omitted. The 
eldest son of the landlord, a full grown lad, stood 
waiting in a respectful posture, out of compliment 
to the guests, with his hands folded on his breast, 
in the Eastern fashion, waiting their pleasure. 
The established etiquette of hospitality in these 
regions, requires that one of the family should act 
as waiter on the guests, and where this attention is 
not paid by the chief himself, it is devolved on his 
wife or some of the younger branches of the house- 
hold. One anecdote in illustration of this may be 
given on the authority of Walpole, who, in travel- 
ling through Asiatic Turkey, came about noon to 
the tent of a native emir. The old chief, though 
he had himself dined at an earlier hour, sat down 
to eat with the strangers, while his wife and two 
younger children waited on them, notwithstanding 
their remonstrances, according to the custom of the 
country. 

From these different accounts of the hospitality 
of the modern Arabs, it appears, that their wealth- 
iest Sheiks, with all the native generosity of their 
race, are in the habit of keeping as small a stock of 



44 EASTERN MANNERS. 

provisions on hand, and have to make preparations 
for their entertainments, as much on the spur of the 
occasion, as their patriarchal predecessors. Among 
both, we perceive the same system of manners 
prevailing — the same generosity of heart, to place 
the best they have to give at the disposal of the 
stranger ; and the same active part taken, both by 
the men and women of the household, in furnishing 
the bill of fare. Abraham, though he could have 
commanded the services of three hundred and 
eighteen home-born slaves, went himself to pro- 
cure the calf which he allotted for his guests, while 
the venerable mother of Israel busied herself with 
the active operations of the cook ; and, in like man- 
ner, a Sheik of the present day, who has the com- 
mand of five hundred cavalry, does not disdain to 
harness his own horse, or that of his friends, while 
the fair fingers of his wife knead the bread, and 
superintend the cooking of the victuals, which are 
made of the flour which her daughters have ground, 
and the water they have fetched from the fountain. 
Nor should we think lightly of them, or complain 
of their attention to these simple cares, which edu- 
cation and habit have made perfectly consistent 
with the dignity of heads of the most respectable 
families, and by which they consider themselves 
doing a greater honour to their guests, than if they 
were to delegate the generous office to the mer- 
cenary hands of a servant. 

Previous to this memorable interview, the Lord 
had renewed to the patriarch the promise of the 
future power and increase of his tribe, which, to 
the head of a pastoral people, was the most splen- 
did promise that could be given — and, in token of 
its fulfilment, announced to him that he was thence- 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 45 

forth to be known by a new name, which, in all 
Eastern countries, is a sort of public intimation of 
some new circumstances having taken place in the 
history or condition of the individual. Gen. xvii. 5. 
Among us appellatives are generally arbitrary, and 
are used merely as signs by which one person may 
be distinguished from another ; and so little import- 
ance do we attach to them, that we are accustomed 
to say proverbially. What is in a name? But, in the 
East, from the earliest ages, names have been sig- 
nificant of some qualities in the character, or some 
peculiar circumstances in the condition of the per- 
son to whom they are applied — of which, there- 
fore, the mere mention of the name conveys the 
intelligence to all, though they are total strangers 
to the individual. Thus, among some of the East- 
ern people, the mothers give such names to their 
children as generally seem to arise from some cir- 
cumstances at their birth ; calling, for example, one 
by a name signifying strong, because it appeared 
so when it came into the world ; and another by a 
name expressive of trouble, from the anxiety and 
trouble which its infancy produced ; or, among 
others, names are given to those who signalize 
themselves in war, or occupy conspicuous stations, 
or are possessed of eminent qualifications, which 
are intended to perpetuate the fame of their achieve- 
ments, and to make their characters better and more 
widely known. And, what is singular, these names 
are often changed in the course of their subsequent 
lives, on the occurrence of any new circumstance, 
or the performance of any new actions, which give 
greater celebrity and lustre to their character. Per- 
sons have been known to receive seven different 
names in the course of their life, each of which 



46 EASTERN MANNERS. 

was successively relinquished on the adoption of 
the new one — which, not unfrequently, consists 
only in the addition of another syllable, or a slight 
variation at the end of the old one ; and the occa- 
sions on which such changes are made, are gene- 
rally those on which a great difference has taken 
place, in age, appearance or condition, or religion. 
It is incredible in what a short space of time the 
new name is known and spread all over the coun- 
try. This custom has continued to the present day 
in the East; and, although it is most prevalent 
among women and slaves, who express, in this 
manner, their own feelings on any new alteration 
in their state, yet it is common to all classes, since 
in Persia, where, of all Eastern countries, it has 
been longest and most generally followed, it is 
usual for governors of provinces, and chiefs of 
tribes, to assume a new name with their new 
dignity. One of its most illustrious kings, who 
was raised from a low origin to the throne, changed 
the name of Sen" for that of Soleiman, because a 
former monarch of that name had been peculiarly 
unfortunate ; a female peasant of Hindostan, whose 
beauty and accomplishments raised her, on the 
death of her husband, to be the favourite queen of 
Arungzebe, received from the enamoured monarch 
the name of Nour-Jehan, or Star of the Harem, 
Captain Carver, when adopted by a tribe of In- 
dians, was called first by a name expressive of 
swil'tness of foot, on account of his agility ; and 
afterwards by a new name, denoting writer of 
hieroglyphics, from their observing him frequently 
writing. — And, what is still nearer the point — an 
Arab prince, whose wealth and conquests procured 
him extensive influence among the native tribes, 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 47 

assumed a name signifying, Lord of many people.* 
Such being the immemorial custom of the East, it 
was not unworthy of the Divine Being to accom- 
modate his procedure towards Abram to the notions 
and habits of the people with whom that patriarch 
was classed. The bestowal of the name of Abra- 
ham and Sarah, the former of which signifies 
father of a multitude, and the latter, princess, would 
tend, according to their ideas, to keep alive in their 
minds the remembrance of the divine promise that 
had been made to them, while, at the same time, 
as indicating the high destiny that was in reserve 
for his tribe, it might be the occasion of the great 
respect in which he was held by the neighbouring 
princes. 

* The only other trait of Eastern Manners which oc- 
curs in this part of the history, is connected with the 
visit of the angels to Sodom, who, we are informed, 
were intending " to abide in the street all night," until 
they were entertained in the house of Lot. Travellers 
had not always friends with whom to lodge in the 
places to which they went; and, therefore, it was 
usual for them to wait at the gate, or in the street, till 
some person invited them. The same custom still pre- 
vails, as Park tells us, in some cities of the East, and 
we know that even in Calcutta, this was till lately the 
practice — hotels in the European style being of very 
recent introduction even in the capital of India. 



48 EASTERN MANNERS. 



CHAPTER II. 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 



Ishmael in the desert — terrible effects of thirst — storie3 of persona 
perishing from this cause — contentions about wells— destruction of 
wells — the Goel or blood-avenger — cause of Jacob's flight — manner 
of travelling — halting at wells— wells places of public resort — de- 
scription of an Arab shepherdess — Jacob's marriage — manner of 
forming the marriage relation in the East — marrying two sisters — 
strength of Jacob's attachment to Rachel — his return and interview 
with Esau — tokens of submission in the East. 



The story* of Ishmael is full of interest, on ac- 
count of the disastrous circumstances with which 
it opens, and of its exhibiting in the character and 
habits of that wayward youth, the germ of a mode 
of life, still indelibly impressed on one of the most 
singular people that have existed in the world. 
We first behold him in the situation of an outcast 
from his father's tent, and wandering in the neigh- 
bouring wilderness of Beersheba, overtaken by one 
of those disasters so common to those who attempt 
to explore the secrets of the desert. It is impossi- 
ble to read the simple and graphic narrative of the 
sacred historian without emotions of the liveliest 
sympathy in behalf both of the youthful sufferer, 



* Gen. xxi. 9. — It is customary for mothers in the 
East, to suckle their children a long time, sometimes 
even for three years. The weaning time is always a 
season of great festivity. Abraham made a feast at the 
weaning of Isaac, and the same practice obtains to this 
day in Persia, Arabia, and other eastern countries. 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 49 

whom a burning thirst was threatening with a pre- 
mature and excruciating death, and of the distracted 
mother, who, wrapped up in the fate of her son, 
appeared totally insensible to the misery of her 
own situation, alone and without hope in an inhos- 
pitable wild. But, perhaps, few are aware of the 
real extent of a calamity altogether unknown in a 
temperate climate, or can picture to themselves 
how severe must have been the privation that pros- 
trated the spirit and energies of a youth of seven- 
teen, whose hardy frame and intrepid character 
soon after made him the first among the stirring 
spirits of the place. We are so accustomed to the 
influence of a sky tempered by the friendly inter- 
position of clouds; to perpetual verdure smiling on 
the mountains and valleys ; and to rivers diffusing 
their watery treasures by a thousand channels, and 
forming essential elements of every landscape, that 
we find it difficult to entertain the idea of a scene 
so fearfully wild as to be destitute of every one of 
these natural features, or to conceive the dreadful 
state to which the want of them, especially the 
want of the common article of water, often re- 
duces the unfortunate people who chance to be 
placed in a situation so unpropitious. This, how- 
ever, was precisely the character of the dreary soli- 
tude, whose want of resources had so nearly proved 
fatal to Ishmael. The wilderness of Beersheba or 
Shur, lying at the north-eastern extremity of the 
Red Sea, and forming the northern part of the great 
Arabian desert, is, according to the testimony of 
those who have crossed it, a vast expanse of unin- 
habited country, which, by the straightest route 
from north to south, cannot be traversed in less 
than about forty days ; and it is so wild and deso- 
late a region, that it seems to have been doomed 
5 



50 EASTERN MANNERS. 

by the Creator to the curse of perpetual sterility. 
Throughout the whole extent of it not a blade of 
verdure is to be seen, nor the voice of living thing 
to be heard ; and but a few hardy plants, the 
tamarind and the acacia, which, here and there 
striking their roots into the clefts of the rocks, and 
nourished by the dews of night, " waste their 
sweetness in the desert air," there would be no- 
thing to dispel the feeling which this dismal scene 
strongly produces, that here is a region where na- 
ture is wholly dead. Vain is the hope of the 
traveller, that, the first dreary spots being passed, his 
eye may yet rest on some oasis, his panting frame 
be refreshed under some grateful shade; and he 
may arrive at some stage, where the peopled city 
or village will remunerate his toils with the plea- 
sures of society. From day to day, from morn to 
night, he prosecutes his irksome journey, while 
nothing is seen but the same tedious monotony — 
nothing but the frightful precipices, and the bright 
sand, which the fierce rays of a vertical sun are 
scorching. 

" There no spring in murmurs breaks away, 

Or moss-grown fountains mitigate the day ; 
In vain he hopes the green delights to know, 
Which plains more blest or verdant vales bestow ; 
There rocks alone, or tasteless sands are found, 
And faint and sickly winds for ever howl around." 

Collins. 

To travel over the desert is always a perilous 
expedition, from its utter destitution of every thing 
that contributes to the support of life ; and, not- 
withstanding the careful preparations that are made, 
and the custom of travelling in large caravans which 
secures the benefit of mutual assistance, it is sel- 
dom that such a journey is made without accidents 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 51 

occurring, to distress one or other of the party. Of all 
the accidents to which these journeys are liable, that 
which is attended with the most disastrous effects, 
is the want of water. That element may be said to 
be in these regions the greatest necessary of life, 
and no idea can be formed by Europeans, of the 
vast quantity required, during a march over the de- 
sert, by a single person, whose palate is continually 
parched by the effects of the fiery atmosphere and 
ground, and whose food, consisting of preparations 
of flour and butter, is calculated to excite thirst in 
the greatest degree. " The usual computation is, 
that about twenty pounds, [about 2| gallons] of 
water are required for the daily consumption of a 
man. To drink four or five times a day is con- 
sidered a scanty allowance — few drink less than six 
or seven times — and when the south wind is blow- 
ing — no quantity of water is sufficient to keep the 
mouth moist — and an appeal to the Girbah is made 
every quarter of an hour."* To guard against such 
exigencies, the first care of every traveller is to pro- 
vide himself with a plentiful supply of the neces- 
sary fluid, and, as the knowledge of wells must al- 
ways be of primary importance in a region where 
water is so essential to the maintenance of life, the 
route is invariably determined by the situation of 
such places of refreshment, a deviation to which 
from the line of march, even although it be long 
and circuitous, is little thought of in comparison of 
procuring this rare and inestimable treasure. But, 
between the traveller and that cup of blessedness, 
many obstacles often unexpectedly intervene — the 
springs are generally but few and scanty all over 
the desert, in that part of it especially where Ish^ 

* Burckhardt. 



52 EASTERN MANNERS. 

mael wandered. A traveller who crossed it, found 
only four in the space of a hundred and fifteen miles, 
situated at the distance of four, six, and even eight 
days' journey from each other. Besides there is 
the danger of missing them, in a trackless solitude, 
but particularly in the wilderness of Paran, which, 
in many places, is full of rugged and precipitous 
cliffs, around the base of which the traveller has to 
seek his way. It may happen, that after the great- 
est exertions have been made to reach these springs, 
they are found entirely choked with the moving 
sand, or that they prove to the mortification of the 
luckless traveller, so impregnated with brackish 
qualities, from the beds of sulphur or salt over 
which they roll, as to increase, instead of allaying 
his already insufferable thirst. And then follows a 
scene of the most dreadful and protracted sufferings 
which a human being can experience. The burn- 
ing thirst, rendered more violent by the fierce heat 
of the glowing firmament and the fiery sand, pro- 
duces an intense agony in every part of the frame. 
The dry and contracted feeling of the skin, the 
eyes appearing like balls of coagulated blood, the 
unnatural swelling and hardness of the tongue and 
lips, the increasing difficulty of seeing and hearing, 
the total loss of speech, together with the most 
painful sensations in the throat, all these, which 
are invariable consequences of unalleviated thirst, 
indicate a universal derangement of the bodily sys- 
tem ; produce languor and insensibility — and at last 
bring the unhappy sufferer, after many a struggle, 
to drop on the ground, happy if, like Ishmael* — 

* Thevenot found a person precisely in the same cir- 
cumstances as Ishmael, having in his agony thrust his 
panting head under a small bush to smell any damp 
that might be there. These small bushes were probably 



PATRIAECHAL LIFE. 53 

he can purchase a brief respite from his misery, by 
sheltering his scorched head under one of the dwarf- 
ish acacias that are strewed around. In such cir- 
cumstances, it is said that five hundred dollars have 
been given for a draught of water. But, in gene- 
ral, where one is placed in such extremities, all 
who are with him are more or less in a similar state 
of distress — and then no bribe, however great — 
no entreaties, however importunate, can produce a 
single drop — for of what use would all the wealth 
of the Indies be, in a place where death would be 
the inevitable consequence of parting with the pre- 
cious beverage? The master of a whole caravan 
is then no more privileged than the meanest of 
his slaves — and as the desire of self-preservation 
triumphs over every consideration — when one drops, 
the victim of thirst — his companions, however they 
may commiserate the sufferer, are obliged to pass 
on without delay — and abandon him to his fate. 
And how terrible such a situation, to be exposed in 
a boundless desert ! In vain does he exert his ex- 
piring energies, in a last effort to cry out for help — 
or to hoist the signal of distress. Not. a soul is near 
to whisper the accents of sympathy, or to pour a 
drop of water on his burning lips — not even an echo 
responds to his cries — and he lies there — dreaming 
of the murmur of limpid streams, and of wandering 
along the verdant banks, and stooping to swallow 
the delicious draught, till the effort to obey the im- 



the very cause of Ishmael and his mother not being able 
to see the well which was so near them. Mr. Campbell 
was once in this predicament. Having travelled the 
whole day without water, and halted about sunset in 
great distress from thirst, he found in the morning that 
he had been spending the night within a few yards of 
an abundant supply of the precious fluid. 
5* 



54 EASTERN MANNERS. 

pulse of imagination dissipates the enchantment, 
and awakes him to all the horrible realities of his 
situation, a helpless and forsaken wanderer, perish- 
ing of thirst in " a waste howling wilderness." 

No general descriptions, however, of the misery 
of such a situation can convey so vivid a picture of 
Ishmael's distress, as the unvarnished and circum- 
stantial narratives of those who have had the 
courage to brave, and the good fortune to survive the 
perils of the same or a similar scene. And to the 
reader of the Bible, who meets, both in the story of 
the son of Hagar, and the travels of the Israelites 
in the wilderness, with several notices of this kind 
of distress, which the rapid narrative of Moses in- 
troduces only by incidental allusion, an important 
and grateful service may be rendered by subjoining 
the most interesting particulars of the accounts of 
some individuals who have felt all the horrors con- 
sequent on a failure of water in the Arabian de- 
sert. The following story is given on the testimony 
of the celebrated Burckhardt, who travelled over 
that dreary region ; and it relates to a small cara- 
van of five merchants with about thirty slaves, and 
a proportionate number of camels, who were pass- 
ing for the purposes of trade from Berber to Egypt, 
and having received intelligence that they were to 
be waylaid by a band of robbers at a well which lay 
in their road, they determined on choosing a more 
Easterly route, by another well of no less repute with 
travellers. They had placed themselves under the 
conduct of a trusty and experienced guide — but as 
the way they had chosen was not much frequented , 
they soon wandered out of the proper track, 
and for five days could not discover where they 
were. Meanwhile their stock of water failed, and 
as their necessities were increasing every hour, 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 55 

they determined to direct their course by the set- 
ting sun, in hopes of reaching the Nile. After hav- 
ing sustained the pangs of thirst for two days, fif- 
teen of the slaves and two of the merchants died. 
Another, who was the owner of the camels, con- 
ceiving that the beasts might by sagacity or instinct, 
be more successful than their masters in discover- 
ing the situation of water, requested his companions 
to tie him fast to the saddle of his stoutest remain- 
ing camel, to prevent his falling through weakness, 
and then allowed the animal to carry him in what- 
ever direction it chose ; but neither the merchant 
nor his camels were afterwards heard of. Mean- 
while, the caravan, now diminished to a little party, 
came in sight of the mountains of Shigre, which 
they recognized, and where they knew they were 
certain of finding water. But they were so greatly 
enfeebled through fatigue and privation, that neither 
men nor beasts were able to proceed any further. 
Throwing themselves down at the foot of a project- 
ing rock, whose shade promised them a little respite 
from their misery, they despatched two servants, 
with two of the strongest remaining camels, in quest 
of water. The messengers, however, had not pro- 
ceeded far ere one of them dropped on the ground, 
through perfect feebleness, and, unable to speak, 
merely waved his hand to his companion to leave 
him, and to return with water as quickly as possi- 
ble. The survivor accordingly continued his soli- 
tary and now almost hopeless task — for so great 
was his own debility, and the excessive thirst that 
preyed on him, that his eyes became dim, and he 
lost the road, though he was well acquainted with 
the situation of the spring. Having wandered about 
a long time, he alighted under the shade of a tree, 
and fastened the camel to one of the branches j but 



56 EASTERN MANNERS. 

the impatient beast having scented the water, broke 
his halter, and, wearied as it was, galloped oft" at a 
furious rate in the direction of the well, which it 
afterwards appeared was about half an hour's dis- 
tance. The servant well understood the move- 
ments of the camel, and hastened to follow it; but 
after advancing a few hundred yards, he fell ex- 
hausted on the ground, and had lain a considerable 
time expecting nothing but death, when a kind pro- 
vidence directed a Bedouin of the neighbourhood to 
that place, who threw a little water on the face of 
the expiring man, and in a short time succeeded in 
restoring him. They proceeded together to the 
spring, and after filling as many skins as they could 
carry, returned to the stragglers of the caravan, 
whom they had the satisfaction of finding still alive. 
A French traveller relates an occurrence similar 
to this, but which awakens a more melancholy in- 
terest, both from the greater number of persons who 
were overtaken by the calamity, and the disastrous 
consequences with which it was attended. The 
caravan belonged to a Turk engaged in the slave 
trade, who, having with great care, and at a great 
expense, reared and educated some female slaves, 
was on his way to dispose of them at the market of 
Bagdad. They had taken with them a copious sup- 
ply of water, and had calculated on being able to 
renew it at a well which they had to pass ; but, to 
their great disappointment, they found it completely 
dried, and they were reduced in consequence to the 
greatest distress. The first object that struck the 
eye of the Frenchman as he approached, was the 
owner of the caravan running about in a state of 
distraction, and bewailing in most doleful terms his 
situation, and the ruin of his fortunes. On a nearer 
view, a spectacle was disclosed that would have 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 57 

wrung pity out of the hardest heart. In the midst 
of twelve eunuchs and about a hundred camels, was 
a band of two hundred girls of most exquisite beauty, 
of from twelve to fifteen years of age, lying on 
the ground in a state approaching to insensibility, 
produced by excessive fatigue and thirst. Some 
had already sunk under their distress, and were 
thrown into a pit dug for the purpose; the greater 
part, however, showed, by their panting bosoms 
and imploring looks, that they were still alive, but 
so faint and feeble, that had water been within their 
reach, they could not have made the necessary ex- 
ertion to carry it to their lips. The air was rent 
with the piercing cries of the dying girls, and many 
a Wistful eye was cast on the traveller and his com- 
panions for a drop of the precious fluid. Deeply 
affected by such a scene, he was proceeding to 
open his leathern bottle, and to distribute its con- 
tents among as many as possible of the pitiable ob- 
jects, when his guide rushing forward with the 
peremptory exclamation, " Madman ! wouldst thou 
have us also perish of thirst]" dashed off the un- 
fortunate slaves, seized hold of the water-skin, and 
threatened with instant death, the first who ven- 
tured to touch it. The traveller, knowing that the 
ruthless Arab was in the right, and was acting as 
his own friend, was obliged to yield to the cruel 
necessity ; and as their departure from the scene of 
horror took away the last ray of hope from the 
perishing girls, a shriek of despair was raised, 
every one crying out with frantic vehemence for 
death to come and relieve them from their suffer- 
ings. It was a most distressing scene ; even the 
Arab, not unused to such spectacles, could no 
longer resist. He took one that lay nearest him, 
poured some water on her burning lips, and placed 



58 EASTERN MANNERS. 

her behind him on his camel, with the view of pre- 
serving her as a present to his wife. The poor 
slave fainted several times as she parted from the 
spot; but being borne across the desert at a rapid 
pace by her deliverers, was spared the agony of 
witnessing the death that inevitably awaited her 
less fortunate companions. 

When Isaac had arrived at maturity, his father 
discovered an extreme desire to see him married 
— a desire prompted not only by a regard to the 
divine promise, but also by the consciousness, that 
on the offspring of his only son depended the con- 
tinuance of the honours of the tribe in his own line. 
Gen. xxiv. From the great seclusion of Eastern 
females, young men never have an opportunity of 
becoming acquainted with the other sex, or of con- 
sulting their own wishes in the choice of a partner; 
that office was, in the earliest ages, assigned to the 
parents; and as, according to established man- 
ners in all parts of the East, but particularly among 
the wandering tribes, the wife is never selected 
from the strangers among whom the youth is re- 
siding, but always from his native country, and his 
own kindred ; so Abraham, whose age disqualified 
him for the journey himself, despatched a confiden- 
tial servant, with full powers to conduct the nego- 
tiation. The trust was a weighty one, as on the faith- 
ful execution of it depended the purity of blood, 
and honour of his tribe in the eyes of his pastoral 
neighbours; and, accordingly, he imposed on Elie- 
zer a solemn oath, that " he would go unto his coun- 
try, and to his kindred, and take a wife unto his son 
Isaac." We hasten to follow the faithful messen- 
ger to the Mesopotamian city of Nahor, and to min- 
gle with him in the beautiful oriental scene which 
ne then witnessed at the time of drawing water. It 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 59 

is well known to be the office of females, even of 
respectable rank in the East, to draw water morn- 
ing and evening , and groups of them may be seen 
sallying forth from the gates at the regular periods, 
wirh their large two-handled earthen jars on their 
back or their shoulders. " When I saw," says Mr. 
Forbes, " the Brahmin women of distinction draw- 
ing water at the village wells, and tending their 
cattle to the lakes and rivers, they recalled the 
transactions of the patriarchal days. Very often 
have I witnessed a scene similar to that between 
Abraham's servant and Rebekah, at the entrance 
of a hindoo village in Guzerat. The Hindoo dam- 
sels of the present day live in as much simplicity as 
those formerly in Mesopotamia; they still descend 
to the wells, and continue to pour the water into 
an adjacent trough, for the convenience of the cat- 
tle." It was at the well, that, according to custom, 
Eliezer presented Rebekah with the ear-rings and 
bracelets, which her uncle had sent to her, and 
which, in short, were the marriage portion with 
which her hand was obtained. 

The dry and sultry character of an Eastern cli- 
mate making water scarce, it is not surprising that 
the only remarkable occurrences in the uneventful 
life of Isaac, should bear a reference to an element 
which is a prime and indispensable requisite, with 
those especially who, like him, are engaged in the 
pursuits of a pastoral life, Gen. xxvi. 16. To people 
of that description indeed, wells were then, as they 
are still, objects of so great importance, that, on the 
discovery of a new one, a formal report of it was 
made to the head of the tribe, who took possession 
of it with the most solemn ceremonies, distinguished 
it by his own name, and watched over the rare and 
inestimable treasure with a jealousy that punished 



60 EASTERN MANNERS. 

as enemies all who presumed to approach it with- 
out the permission of the owner. According to the 
usage of nomadic tribes, Isaac had the sole and un- 
disputed right to all the watering-places which were 
found within the pastoral district of Canaan he fre- 
quented ; nor do we read that his watering his flocks 
at particular wells was ever made a subject of con- 
tention, till, on a failure of the herbage in his wont- 
ed track, he was forced, like his father, to emigrate 
with all his tribe, and to occupy, for a stipulated 
tribute, some pasture lands within the territory of 
the petty prince of Gerar. With Abimelech and 
his subjects, he maintained for a while, the most 
friendly relations, till the unexampled prosperity 
that crowned his pursuits during his residence 
among them, awakened the jealousies of the Philis- 
tines to such a degree, that they determined to 
rid themselves of a chief, whose increasing power 
and opulence might render him a dangerous neigh- 
bour ; and, as the pacific and honourable character 
of this patriarch afforded no just pretexts for a dis- 
solution of the friendly alliance, they fell on the 
expedient of secretly subjecting him to every spe- 
cies of annoyance, particularly of choking up with 
sand and stones the wells which, lying within his 
territory, were the resort of his flocks, and to which, 
as being the discovery and work of his father, he 
might have urged a free and hereditary claim. 

We find that the stopping up of wells has been 
a common and approved act of hostility in Eastern 
countries, from the age of Isaac, downwards to the 
present day. Not to enumerate the many instances 
mentioned by the Greek and Roman historians, — 
of the inhabitants of ancient Persia and Assyria re- 
sorting to that mode of arresting the progress of 
formidable invaders, it is well known that the 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 61 

Turkish government and other authorities in the 
East pay a large tribute to the Arabs to keep the 
wells accessible and in good order, for the benefit 
of the caravans which annually undertake the pil- 
grimage to Mecca; and that among the Arabs them- 
selves, who live in a state of almost continual war- 
fare, there is no way in which they more frequently 
wreak their vengeance on rival or hostile tribes, 
than by obstructing, in every possible way, their 
supply of water. Almost every book of history 
and travels relating to that people, contains accounts 
of the malignant zeal and determination with which 
they seize every opportunity of accomplishing the 
destruction of the wells of their enemies ; and it is 
not difficult to imagine the desolation and misery 
which extensive ravages of this nature produce in a 
dry and unwatered country. Many centuries after 
the time of Isaac, and not far from the place of his 
encampment at Gerar, a modern army was menaced 
with the same kind of annoyance that succeeded in 
driving that pacific shepherd from the dominions of 
Abimelech. The instance, which is a remarkable 
one, occurs in the history of the Crusaders, when 
these enthusiastic adventurers first sat down before 
the walls of Jerusalem. To force them to raise 
the siege, the inhabitants found means of sending 
out some trusty emissaries to stop the fountains 
and wells within a circuit of six miles of the city, 
so that the Christian army had not remained long 
in their position of besiegers, when they felt them- 
selves reduced to the greatest extremities by thirst. 
During nearly two months that the siege lasted, the 
soldiers of the cross experienced the most terrible 
sufferings from their being unable to discover any 
watering places that had escaped the destructive 
precautions of the Moslem ; although they were 
6 



62 EASTERN MANNERS. 

relieved by occasional supplies of the precious fluid 
through the pious labours of the Christians of Beth- 
lehem, the greatest diligence of these well wishers 
to the cause could not produce any quantity at all 
adequate to their demands, since every brook, foun- 
tain, and pit of fresh water, had been filled with 
dust, stones, and sand. The consequences were 
most disastrous ; for although the men, who fell on 
various expedients to supply the want of water, and 
save themselves from perishing of thirst, held out 
most of them till the surrender of the city ; yet the 
horses, mules, asses, sheep, and cattle of all de- 
scriptions, died in great numbers, and produced a 
pestilence in the army more extensively fatal than 
thirst had been before. 

But the cruel policy which has led to the filling 
up of wells and fountains for the annoyance of an 
enemy, does not always content itself with the stop- 
page of the water by means of sand and stones — 
the same effects are often produced by tainting 
watering-places with every species of defilement, 
of which the following, selected out of many re- 
corded examples, from its being a recent occur- 
rence, may suffice as a specimen. It is taken and 
abridged from the Memoirs of an Albanian who 
served in the Egyptian army during the late war 
with the Wahabees, and who, in consequence of 
the great hardships to which the expedition under 
Monammed Ali was unexpectedly exposed, formed 
and executed the purpose of deserting. Jn flving 
from the camp, his way lay over part of the Arabian 
desert ; and great as must have been the sufferings 
he was certain of encountering in such a journey, 
he thought of nothing but escaping from the wretch- 
edness of his situation. There could not however, 
be a more desperate resolution formed, than for a 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 63 

foreigner to traverse such a trackless region, unac- 
quainted as he was with the localities, and but 
poorly supplied with the necessaries of life ; and it 
could scarcely have been expected but that death 
must have been the almost inevitable fate of the 
bold adventurer, who alone, and with nothing but 
his wallet and water-skin, dared to traverse the 
boundless plains of the desert. For several days 
after he commenced his flight, nothing remarkable 
happened. His supply of water, however, became 
exhausted ; and though he found several wells in 
his way, they were rendered disgusting and un- 
wholesome by the number of bodies of his dead 
comrades which the enemy had thrown into them 
for that purpose. Such pains, indeed, had they 
taken to give this annoyance to the Egyptian in- 
vaders, that he found along the whole of that quar- 
ter of the desert which he had to travel, from Con- 
futa to Mecca, the same pestilential smell, and the 
same loathsome spectacle of the carcasses of sol- 
diers lying in the wells. Driven at last by thirst 
to desperation, he arrived one evening at the brink 
of a well so deep, that its contents were beyond his 
reach, and, on that account, had not been tainted 
like the rest. He formed the expedient of making 
a robe out of his sash and turban, and of all his 
clothes, even to his shirt, which he stripped for the 
purpose ; and, attaching his water-skin to this, he 
let it down into the well, and after repeated attempts 
for two hours in taking up a little at a time, for fear 
of breaking the rope, he succeeded in filling his skin 
with as much as served him during the rest of his 
journey to Mecca, which was about two days. It 
was fortunate that he took the precaution of pro- 
viding such a stock, as he found that all the wells 
in his route were stopped up with the same nause- 



64 EASTERN MANNERS. 

ous obstruction as he had seen at the beginning of 
his flight. 

Isaac and his tribe having been forcibly thrust 
out of the dominions of Abimelech, by the mischiev- 
ous destruction of his wells, pursued their journey 
eastward, in the direction of their former settlement, 
regulating their march by short and easy stages, for 
the purpose of providing forage for the flocks. Gen. 
xxvi. 20. During one of these encampments, at no 
great distance from Gerar, where, allured by the 
richness and extent of the pastures, he proposed to 
make a considerable halt, he was exposed to a 
new species of insult from the straggling inhabitants 
who opposed the right of his herdsmen to their 
wells. Every one of the watering places there 
had been dug by the skill and industry of Abraham, 
who conferred, at his departure, the free use and 
benefit of them on all that succeeded him in Gerar. 
But the selfish and ungrateful people, afraid of 
being deprived of so great a treasure, had changed 
the names of their wells, with a view of obliterating 
all traces of their origin; and though they owed a 
very different reception to the son and representa- 
tive of their benefactor, who preferred no other 
claim to them than the privilege of renewing his 
stock of water at them as he passed along on his 
march through the country ; yet, from distrust of 
his intentions, the boon was fiercely denied, and 
the importunate and persevering efforts he made 
to conciliate their minds having proved ineffectual, 
the pacific chief, unwilling to extort by force what 
he had so good a right to demand, left the inhos- 
pitable place, and soon after established himself at 
Beersheba, where he was abundantly, and without 
molestation, supplied with water from wells which 
went by the name of his father, having been a pur- 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 65 

chase of his from a former king of Gerar. This 
fresh opposition which Isaac met with, did not 
arise so much from any peculiar violence in the 
character of the men of Gerar, as from a feeling 
common all over the East, to set a high value on 
all the places where water is afforded ; and from 
the extreme unwillingness of the people in many- 
parts to give away the smallest quantity of an arti- 
cle which is so necessary to their existence, and 
which their ignorance of the art of sinking wells, 
or the arid nature of the soil, renders so extremely 
scarce. This rigid and parsimonious frugality in 
regard to water, characterizes, in a striking degree, 
the natives of those barren and inhospitable regions, 
where there are few or no springs, and the little 
rain that falls is quickly absorbed by the thirsty 
sand ; and travellers in these quarters, notwith- 
standing every disposition to continue on friendly 
terms with the people, often find themselves un- 
avoidably engaged in fierce contentions with them, 
on account of their obstinately persisting in their 
refusal to allow any strangers to approach their 
wells ; a refusal, justifiable in some instances, from 
the real poverty of their stock, but more frequently 
resorted to as a means of extorting money from the 
needy applicants. A traveller in the mountainous 
parts of Arabia was a witness to a fierce contention 
between some shepherds of the place, which re- 
minded him very strongly of the contest between 
the people of Gerar and the servants of Isaac. It 
was the dry season, when the tanks and reservoirs 
had become all exhausted, and the only resource of 
the natives was in their well, which, however, was 
the common property of several, and these having 
numerous flocks, it was necessary to have certain 
regulations, fixing the time and order to be observ- 
6* 



66 EASTERN MANNERS. 

ed by all who claimed the privilege of the watering- 
place. The shepherds, who were nearly on a foot- 
ing of equality, had carefully adhered to the order 
of rotation, in consequence of which, no disputes 
or differences had been known to have occurred in 
the place for a long time. But, on the occasion 
which the traveller refers to — one of the flocks had 
been committed to a young maiden, the daughter 
of the proprietor, who being naturally timid, and 
rather inexperienced, was taken advantage of by a 
rude shepherd, who had come before the rest to the 
well. Others approaching, who were more dis- 
posed to favour the damsel, began to resist, and to 
push off the individual and his camels ; till, on the 
rest coming up, and taking part, some with one, 
some with the other party, a general affray ensued, 
and it did not terminate till the refractory shepherd, 
who had broken the peace, was driven away and 
deprived of his right to repair to the well."* 

A recent traveller in Nubia, having learnt that at 
some short distance from where he was, a ruin was 
situated, the description of which raised his curiosi- 
ty to examine the monument of antiquity, applied 
to an Arab chief, whose hospitality he was enjoy- 
ing, for a guide to conduct him thither. He was 
refused, on the ground that it could not be approach- 
ed without difficulty, and even danger, on account 
of the way lying through a barren tract of the coun- 
try which was inhabited by a fierce and jealous 
tribe. By dint of continued importunities, how- 
ever, the traveller succeeded in procuring the com- 
pany, both of the chief himself and some of his 



* Captain Light saw, in 1814, a band of herdsmen 
armed with muskets, watering their cattle in a large 
stone reservoir not far from Nazareth. 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 67 

principal attendants ; and they set out forthwith on 
the journey, which would occupy a few days. 
Their march led them through a wild glen, covered 
over entirely with white sand, and enclosed on 
every side with black and lofty precipices, and 
so destitute of every trace of vegetation, or any thing 
that indicated that food of any kind or water could 
be had in it — as to excite astonishment that any 
human beings could discover attractions in it to 
lead them to make choice of such a prison for their 
dwelling-place. While passing down this dreary 
valley, the Arabs, advancing before the traveller, 
drew closer together, and showed by their anxious 
looks, and their frequent whispers, that they were 
approaching the enemies' camp, and were prepar- 
ing themselves for the expected encounter. At a 
winding in the glen, they came in full view of the 
tents of the dreaded tribe, which were situated in 
front, and apparently in defence of a fine natural 
reservoir of water — the only place in that wild 
solitude where water could be found for many days' 
journey round. The road to the ruin lay up this 
defile, and close to the brink of the pond, from 
which the guides intended, if possible, to fill their 
leather bags. No sooner was their presence dis- 
covered, than the camp was in motion — a party 
advanced, who, in a menacing tone, demanded for 
what purpose they had come or what they wanted ; 
and having received for an answer, that they were 
intending merely to ask a little water, and to 
pass on in their journey, those fiery sons of the 
desert put themselves into an attitude of defiance; 
and exhibited a number of the most violent gesticu- 
lations, as if to express their determination to at- 
tack any who should dare to approach their trea- 
sure. They continued in this way for a consider- 



68 EASTERN MANNERS. 

able time, giving and exchanging angry altercations 
on both sides, till at last, without any warning, they 
rushed in full attack on each other, and, with the 
most horrible clamour, kept up the contest for 
about twenty minutes. On a sudden, and as if by 
mutual consent, on one or two being wounded 
both parties suspended hostilities. The alterca- 
tion, however, was renewed and carried on with 
violence for some time longer, till at last the owners 
of the pond agreed to give the strangers a little 
water, standing over them all the while they were 
filling their skins, and grudging every drop they 
carried away with them. 

The flight of Jacob from his father's tent, after 
the base act of dissimulation and perfidy by which 
he stole the honours of the tribe from the rightful 
heir, was a step which both he and his unnatural 
counsellor must have foreseen to be a necessary pre- 
caution during the first burst of resentment, which 
the ungenerous deed was sure to kindle in the breast 
of Esau. The death of Jacob, however, though the 
first, was not the only object of her anxiety to pre- 
vent. Her thoughts ran on the speedy and inevi- 
table punishment of the murderer — the prospect of 
which, however little compunction she had shown 
in depriving him of the honour of his birth-right, 
awakened all her maternal feelings to avert a 
calamity which would affect his life ; and accord- 
ingly, at her parting interview with Jacob, she urged 
him to flee with the utmost secrecy and expedition, 
lest any accident should occur through delay or im- 
prudence, that might render his unhappy parents 
childless. " Arise, flee thou to Laban, my brother, 
to Haran, until thy brother's fury tur« away, 
and he forget that which thou hast done to him. 
Why should I be deprived of you both in one day?" 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 69 

These were her words of hasty counsel, which be- 
trayed a mind painfully distracted with fears for the 
life, not only of him who was forced into exile, but 
of him also whose murderous purpose was the cause 
of it ; and they possess an energy, which cannot be 
perceived without a knowledge of the circumstances 
of the speaker, and the manner in which justice 
would take its course on the fratricide. Public 
magistrate, or tribunal, there was none in Canaan, 
to which he could be summoned, since the Hebrew 
family existed in a state of complete independence, 
and acknowledged no jurisdiction but that of their 
chief; and Isaac, were he alive, being far too par- 
tial to his elder son to have been expected to visit 
his crime with the retribution it deserved, the duty 
of avenging the blood of Jacob would have devolved 
on some Ishmaelite, or other descendant of Abra- 
ham, according to the ancient usage, which required 
the nearest relation of a murdered person to expiate 
his kinsman's death with his own hand. This 
practice of punishing murder has come down to 
the modern Asiatic tribes, from the patriarchal age , 
and, however conducive it may be to the preserva- 
tion of the common safety, in an imperfect state of 
society, it tends to generate a spirit of implacable 
revenge, and is the real cause of all the quarrels and 
contentions which have existed between different 
tribes of the Arabs for centuries. " There is blood 
between us," is a saying sufficient to put an end to 
all intercourse ; and, if the person on whom the 
office of revenge, in the first instance, devolves, 
fails by any accident in the accomplishment of his 
duty, the animosity is transmitted from father to 
son, till it not unfrequently becomes a common 
cause, that cannot be settled but by the extinction 
of one or other of the contending families or tribes. 



70 EASTERN MANNERS. 

An opportunity will occur of returning to this sub« 
ject, and illustrating more fully the practice of Goel- 
ism,* when we come to speak of the humane pro- 
visions which Moses made for regulating it, when 
he incorporated this, with some other traditionary 
usages, with his general system of legislation. It 
may not, however, be uninteresting to subjoin two 
short stories, which may enable the reader to judge 
of the constant state of alarm in which Esau and 
his family must have ever afterwards lived, had he 
imbrued his hand in the blood of his brother. 

In the course of his travels in Arabia, Niebuhr 
made the acquaintance of a man of consequence, 
who, besides the usual x \rabian weapon — a broad 
and sharp-pointed knife — always carried a small 
lance, which he never put out of his hands, even in 
the company of his friends. Not accustomed to 
see such a weapon in the hands of the other Arabs 
of the place — the traveller, on inquiry, found that 
his friend had had the misfortune several years be- 
fore, to have one of his family killed, and that, ac- 
cording to the immemorial practice among all inde- 
pendent tribes, who have no public officers of jus- 
tice, nor written law, he was bound, as the nearest 
representative of his murdered relation, to avenge 
himself in single combat with the assassin. This 
duty had long been unperformed, although it was 
a point of honour that he should prosecute the pur- 
pose of revenge — he had resorted to every expe- 
dient, and grudged neither labour nor expense in 
pursuing from place to place the destined victim 
without any success, till at length he had found 



*That is, the law of revenge — or the practice which 
imposes on the nearest kinsman the duty of avenging 
the blood of a murdered person. 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 71 

him in the town where he then was. He said that 
the moment he got a sight of the enemy he was 
bound to fight him ; but he acknowledged, at the 
same time, that since the matter had nearly arrived 
at a termination, he felt strongly disposed to avoid 
the opportunity as much as possible, and that the 
thought of coming in contact with the person whose 
life he was compelled to take, would not give him 
a moment's repose. This person, not long after, 
found means of accomplishing his bloody task, by 
stabbing his adversary, before notice could be given 
of his approach. 

It must be evident that, amid manners like these, 
and such ideas of honour, the life of one who had 
purposely, or accidentally been stained with the 
blood of another, must have been passed in a state 
of continual fear and suspicion; and that he never 
could have enjoyed a moment's tranquillity or safe- 
ty. The family of a murdered person, generally 
interested themselves in the affair, giving all the 
intelligence and aid they could to their kinsman, on 
whom the duty of revenge properly devolved ; and, 
what is most singular of all, the deceased person, 
or his avenger, had not unfreqnently a friend in the 
murderer's own family, who would, in spite of all 
the ties of nature, make himself a party in the cause 
of the slain; and, however treacherously he might 
go about abetting the plan of revenge, his conduct 
was esteemed highly honourable and meritorious. 
The following story will illustrate this. A young 
Arab, of the name of Kais, had had both his father 
and grandfather slain — but their murders had oc- 
curred at so early a period of his life, that he was, 
and probably would have remained always igno- 
rant of the real circumstances of his family, as his 
mother took every precaution to keep him from 



72 EASTERN MANNERS. 

discoveriug the secret, for fear of his meditating 
revenge, and bringing his own life into jeopardy. 
What his fond mother studiously concealed from 
him, however, he soon learned through the taunts 
and malicious hints of his companions; and having 
at last succeeded in extorting from his afflicted 
parent a full relation of the circumstances, as well as 
a description of the persons by whom the murder 
was committed, he set out on his travels, deter- 
mined never to return, nor to be at rest till he had 
wiped off the stain of blood, which he had uncon- 
sciously allowed to remain so long on the honour 
of his name. Repairing to a distant part of the 
country, he communicated his purpose to a person 
who, he knew, had been a friend of his father, and 
under great obligation to his family ; and although 
one of the individuals, whose life Kais was in quest 
of, was his own uncle, this Arab did not hesitate to 
enter into the feelings of the young stranger, and 
to promise to aid him in the discovery of his victim. 
Having agreed upon a sign, by which he should 
point out the murderer to Kais, he mingled the 
very next day with a party of his friends and rela- 
tions, among whom the devoted person was enjoy- 
ing himself; and having set himself down by the 
side of that individual, in the most familiar man- 
ner, which was the token fixed upon with Kais, 
that young Arab threw himself upon the unsuspect- 
ing victim, and in a moment stretched him dead on 
the ground. The friends instantly started to their 
feet, threatening vengeance for the outrage — but 
the companion of Kais explained for him, by say- 
ing, that he was merely avenging the death of his 
father ; upon which they desisted from all further 
molestation, and allowed that avenger of blood, 
along with his friend, to depart in pursuit of the 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 73 

murderer of his grandfather. They had to travel 
over many a province, as the person they were in 
search of resided in a distant part of Arabia, and, 
on arriving at length at his house, they found him 
in his field, at work with his servants. Kais ran 
up to him, and making a feigned complaint that he 
had been attacked by a robber, who concealed him- 
self in a neighbouring sand-pit, requested the friend- 
ly offices of the Arab to assist him in recovering 
his stolen property. According to the established 
maxims of honour, the man could not deny the 
stranger's request, and was proceeding to order 
some of people to attend him on the spot, when 
Kais, not relishing this, said smilingly : " With us 
no brave man would take so many people, but 
would come alone;" the man ashamed, commanded 
his servants to continue at their work, and he 
would go himself. On perceiving the friend of 
Kais, who lay concealed in the sand, and suspect- 
ing him to be the thief, he was about to rush for- 
ward and attack him, when Kais coming up softly 
behind, stabbed him in the back.* 

From these circumstances, then, we can easily 
imagine the constant risk of assassination, which 
Esau must have incurred, had he carried into exe- 
cution his threatened purpose of murdering his bro- 
ther immediately after Isaac's death ; and that even 
supposing no Ishmaelite had been near, or enjoyed 
the opportunity of avenging the murder of Jacob, 
Esau might have been in no less danger from some 
member of his own household, who entertained a 
friendly regard to the memory of the favourite son 
of Rebecca — for the prevention of all which un- 
happy consequences, that fond mother acted the 

* Michaelis. 

7 



74 EASTERN MANNERS. 

wisest part she could adopt in the circumstances, 
that of advising and facilitating the escape of Jacob 
to a distant retreat, where he would be beyond the 
reach of his dreaded brother. 

With nothing but his staff, a water-skin and a 
scrip of provisions, which are the sole accoutre- 
ments of an Eastern pilgrim, Jacob set out to plod 
his weary way to Mesopotamia, trusting to the 
well known hospitality of the country for refresh- 
ment and accommodation ; and when that could not 
be obtained, sleeping under the canopy of heaven, 
the bare ground for his couch, and a stone for his 
pillow, in the manner of the common Arabs. Like 
them, too, he seems to have regulated his stages 
by the wells that lay in his way, and at which he 
would be the more desirous of halting, that he 
might furnish himself with all the necessary infor- 
mation respecting the unknown and pathless soli- 
tudes through which he was passing. For, in all 
parts of the East, but particularly in the wild and 
unpeopled regions, the wells are places of the ut- 
most importance, as they serve, not merely as so 
many geographical points on the face of the coun- 
try, by which the route of the traveller is deter- 
mined, but as places of the most public resort ; the 
lonely natives having no other way of showing them- 
selves, or of meeting together, to see and to be sc^en, 
than the watering-places, as they have certain 
hours of the day, when they drive their flocks to 
quench their thirst. And when the young maidens 
go forth to draw water for the household, they 
generally assemble there in numbers, communicate 
to each other any incidents of interest or importance 
that have happened, or have come to their know- 
ledge, and frequently enliven these brief hours of 
intercourse with the song and the dance. Delia 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 75 

Valle, and many other travellers, who passed 
through the dreariest part of the desert, tell us 
that they always forgot their toils and privations 
when they reached the wells, and mingled with the 
parties of the lively shepherdesses that came thither 
with their flocks; and that the little kind offices 
which they rendered, in helping these nymphs of 
the mountains to the water, were more than repaid 
by the pleasures of their society and generous hos- 
pitality, which were offered in return with the live- 
liest gratitude : for, in the present day, as of old, 
the female keepers of the flocks are often subjected 
to the rudest treatment from their male com- 
panions, who, pressing forward, deprive them of 
the benefit of the well ; so that the bold stranger 
who happens to be resting there, and chooses tc 
take the part of the fair daughters of the desert, 
renders them an important service, which they 
never fail to acknowledge, by offering to the travel- 
ler all the attentions in their power.* 

The appearance of these shepherdesses and com- 
mon Arab women at the wells, is strange and pe- 
culiar ; for such is the force of custom, that even in. 
the most remote situations, where no looks but 
those of their neighbours, or perhaps of some soli- 
tary traveller are likely to meet them, the female 
Arabs are seen coming to the well with their fea- 
tures rigidly concealed by a veil, and in other parts 
where greater freedom is allowed, with a profusion 
of the most gaudy ornaments on their faces and 
their arms. Nor is it wonderful; for these wells 

* Exodus ii. 15. In such a situation, the timely in- 
terference of Moses, in favour of the daughters of 
Jethro, won for the stranger the affections of the 
grateful shepherdesses, and a cordial welcome to their 
tether*s tent. 



76 EASTERN MANNERS. 

are the only places where the lonely shepherdesses 
ever hope to mingle with the world. Let the 
reader imagine a young damsel, dressed in a loose 
gown and trowsersof a coarse party-coloured stuff 
like the plaids of the Highlands, an immense ring 
suspended from her left nostril, loaded from the 
shoulder to the wrist with massive bracelets of 
silver or horn, her flowing ringlets confined by a 
veil drawn more or less closely, according to cir- 
cumstances, and her bare feet protected from the 
loose stones and sand only by a pair of thin san- 
dals, and he will, in this portrait of an Arab shep- 
herdess of the present day, see probably the exact 
representative of those ancient maidens, whom the 
servant, and afterwards the grandson, of Abraham, 
met at the wells in Mesopotamia, and on whom the 
former heaped the precious ornamental jewels 
which formed the dowry by which she was pur- 
chased. The knowledge that the young women 
of the pastoral tribes of the East do still repair to 
the place of drawing water, in the same gaudy at- 
tire, and bedecked with all their valuables, re- 
moves our surprise that such a place should be 
chosen by the sagacious and faithful messenger of 
the patriarch, for the bestowal of his presents and 
trinkets; while the contentions which are raised, 
and the advantage taken of the timid maidens by 
their rude companions of the other sex, in robbing 
them of the water, enable us to appreciate the an- 
swer of Rachel to Jacob, and the reason of the 
stone not being removed from the well's mouth till 
all the flocks were gathered together ; — her father's 
shepherds probably keeping the keys to secure the 
precious fluid. 

Not the least interesting part of Jacob's history 
is comprised in the period he spent in Mesopo- 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 77 

tamia with the original branch of his family, and 
not the least surprising circumstance in the narra- 
tive of his chequered fortunes is that of his residing 
in the capacity of a hired servant in the house of 
his mother's brother. His near and intimate rela- 
tion to Laban as well as the hospitable reception 
he met with on his arrival in his uncle's tent, pre- 
pares us to find him holding a respectable station 
among his relatives ; and more especially after he 
had become a son-in-law, and a permanent inmate 
of the family. But instead of continuing on that 
footing of equality which became the new and near 
relation he had formed with Laban, he sinks from 
that moment into the low and degrading condition, 
of a menial. The reader, who is unacquainted with 
eastern customs, is apt to impute the servile de- 
pendence to which Jacob was reduced, to the con- 
trivance of his uncle, whose selfish and mercenary 
mind thought it a capital opportunity for making 
the love of the youth available to his own advan- 
tage. But the truth is, that throughout the whole 
of the East, and especially among the wandering 
tribes, marriage is looked upon as a sort of pur- 
chase — the whole transaction being conducted in a 
business-like way between the father and the intend- 
ed bridegroom, without the slightest reference to the 
wishes and affections of the lady ; and it will be 
readily supposed, in such a case, that the means of 
procuring a wife will vary according to circum- 
stances. All the varieties, however, are reducible 
to three, of which the highest and most honourable 
way is that of sending the father and family of the 
bride a number of costly presents, which are gener- 
ally a thousand times more valuable than the exact 
equivalent that would have been demanded — a mode 
of marrying, of which sacred history has afforded 
7* 



78 EASTERN MANNERS. 

an instance, in the case of Rebecca, and which hag 
been, from the earliest times, the manner of nego- 
tiating the tender relation with the daughters of the 
higher and wealthier classes in the East. A more 
common, and of course inferior way of procuring a 
wife, among the pastoral tribes of the East, is Tor 
the lover who has set his affections on a young 
woman, to wait upon her father ; to inform him of 
his wishes, and demand the price of his daughter — 
that price being paid, not in money, but in cattle, of 
which the whole wealth of the Arabs consists; and 
its amount is of course regulated by circumstances 
— being greater or less according to the personal 
quality of the bride, and the rank and fortune of 
him who intends to marry. The wealthiest Arab 
shepherds are accustomed to offer fifty sheep and 
six camels, or a dozen cows. But as so many 
head of cattle must often be above the ability of the 
bridegroom to give, many content themselves with 
offering no more than a mare or a foal; and, in 
some of the poorer and less powerful tribes, a few 
clusters of dates are reckoned sufficient purchase- 
money. It must consequently happen, that when 
a person wishes to marry, but is in so poor a con- 
dition that he can afford neither presents nor dow- 
ry, there is no alternative but to obtain his wife by 
a course of services to her father, which may be 
of various kinds, according to his pursuits and rank 
in life ; and while, at the expiration of the stipula- 
ted term, he earns his bride as the reward of his 
labour — he is treated, up to that period, so much, 
and so constantly as a mercenary servant, that if, in 
the course of it, a change should take place in the 
affections and views of either party, the suitor is 
paid for his work like any other servant, and the 
intended nuptials are broken off. A case of this 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 7$ 

description fell under the observation of a recent 
traveller in Syria.* It was that of a young man 
who, with a view of obtaining in marriage a young 
woman to whom he was attached, had agreed with 
her father to serve him for a series of years. From 
the moment the bargain was concluded the lover 
entered into the house of his future father-in-law, 
and engaged to tend his sheep, and to perform 
various parts of the household work ; being ranked, 
in every respect, on a level with the other servants 
of the family — with this difference, however, in 
their condition, that while they received their stipu- 
lated wages in money or cattle, this young man got 
nothing but his food only. In the long space of eight 
years, he continued in this condition — and at the 
end of that period he obtained the young lady for 
whom he had been serving, and for whom he would 
have had otherwise to pay seven or eight thousand 
piastres. When the traveller saw him, he had been 
married three years, and he bitterly complained of 
his father-in-law, who continued to require of him 
the performance of the most servile offices, without 
paying him any thing — in consequence of which 
he had been prevented from forming a separate 
establishment for himself and family, and had little 
prospect of being able to detach himself from the 
service of his selfish relative. This little anecdote 
conveys the impression, that the terms which La- 
ban proposed to his nephew, were common among 
his countrymen, who, while they are led by their 
customs to regard a number of daughters as a for- 
tune, are induced to cherish the idea of disposing 
of them by the most advantageous bargain; and 
that Jacob, though he was the son and heir of a 

* Burckhardt. 



80 EASTERN MANNERS. 

wealthy chief, and might have procured a supply 
of money from home, to enable him to purchase 
his bride, did nothing, in becoming the servant of 
his father-in-law, but what is sanctioned by the 
general practice of the East, and what in his cir- 
cumstances, was more expedient, than by sending 
any communication to his family, to incur the risk 
of discovering his place of refuge to his incensed 
brother. 

We can have no difficulty in conceiving, then, 
that whatever doubts Laban might have at first en- 
tertained of the propriety of admitting the suit of 
his poor and destitute nephew for the hand of Ra- 
chel, they were soon dissipated, on his perceiving 
that his intended son-in-law possessed all the quali- 
ties of industry and skill, that ensured his making 
a good provision for a household establishment ; 
and indeed, so many were the proofs he observed 
of the extraordinary success with which Provi- 
dence crowned the efforts of the son of Isaac, that 
his calculating mind conceived the design of mar- 
rying the plain and less attractive Leah, as well 
as her comelier sister, to his young and prosperous 
relative. But it can scarcely be supposed, that, 
selfish as he was, and little scrupulous about the 
means of promoting his advantage, he would have 
ventured on the extraordinary proposal of marry- 
ing both his daughters to the same husband, and 
thereby incurring the risk of sinking himself in the 
estimation of the world, if such a practice had been 
totally unknown in Mesopotamia. The sacred 
history gives a sort of hint, that the custom was 
neither rare nor disreputable among the contempo- 
raries of Laban ; and profance history informs us, 
that it was prevalent, both in his country, and 
among the old Arabians, long after his time, which 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 81 

appears from an incident recorded in the life of 
Omar, the second caliph in succession from Mo- 
hammed. In the course of a progress he made 
through his dominions, a complaint was lodged 
with him at one of his stages, against a person who 
had married two sisters both of the same father and 
mother. Up to this period, such a practice had 
been very generally prevalent among the Arabians. 
Mohammed, however, had strictly prohibited its 
continuance, and his new law imposed a severe 
penalty on all who should perpetuate a custom, 
which he denounced as contrary to nature, and 
productive of many evils. The authority of the 
prophet, though sacred and omnipotent, could 
not all at once extirpate the inveterate prejudices 
of his rude countrymen, and, like many other tra- 
ditionary practices, this of marrying two sisters to 
the same husband, was found lingering here and 
there in the remoter parts of the country, long after 
the anathema of Mohammed had been fulminated 
against it. Omar, on whom the honours of the 
caliphate had descended, had determined to stand 
forth as a defender of the faith ; and, on the com- 
plaint being made to him, that one of his subjects 
had the audacity to continue in the old nuptial re- 
lation, which the Koran had denounced, he ex- 
pressed himself in terms of great indignation, and 
summoned both the man and his wives into his 
presence. The accused having acknowledged that 
they were both his wives, and that they stood in 
the near relation of sisters to each other, was told 
that his conduct was a violation of an express and 
peremptory precept of the prophet, on which he 
protested his ignorance of the existence of such a 
law, and swore that, in the marriage he had con- 
tracted, he adhered te the ancient hereditary usage 



82 EASTERN MANNERS. 

of his country. The caliph acknowledged that 
such had been the immemorial usage of the land, 
but as the prophet had declared that it must be en- 
tirely and for ever abolished, it was necessary that 
all the faithful subjects of the caliph should conform 
to the prophetic command, and the culprit was or- 
dered forthwith to put away one of his wives. The 
fond husband loved both so well, that he could not 
decide which to desert, whereupon some of the 
royal attendants proposed to decide the matter by 
casting lots, and the lot having fallen three succes- 
sive times on one, the man retained her, and was 
obliged, to his great regret, to dismiss the other, 
The foregoing narrative sufficiently proves the fact 
of the practice under consideration having former- 
ly prevailed in Arabia ; and from the close resem- 
blance of the customs of that country to those of 
many other quarters of the East, we can the more 
readily suppose that the same practice prevailed in 
Mesopotamia. Much, therefore, as Laban's con- 
duct is deserving of censure, in palming on an 
inexperienced stranger, as Jacob was, another of 
his daughters, in addition to her for whom he had 
stipulated, we have good evidence that the double 
alliance to which he gave his paternal sanction, in- 
volved no breach of propriety according to the com- 
mon and established notions of his country. 

The long term for which Jacob engaged to serve 
for his wife, and during which he bore the misery 
of hope deferred, affords a strong proof of the ar- 
dour and fidelity of his attachment to the lovely 
Mesopotamia shepherdess. To endure the fatigues 
of labour, and to support the character of a ser- 
vant, for the period of seven years, could have 
been the resolution only of a heart that was true to 
its object as the needle to the pole. Yet we do 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 83 

great injustice to the affection of Jacob for Rachel, 
if we measure the attachment of that faithful lover 
by the length of his service, without considering 
that the life he led during that protracted period, 
must have been one of toils and privations, most 
unpropitious to the nonrishment of the tender pas- 
sion. To the keeper of sheep on the mountains 
or the deserts of Asia, there are few intervals of 
repose; for, from the impossibility of erecting en- 
closures large enough for their immense flocks, 
they are obliged to watch them day and night in 
the fields, exposed to all the vicissitudes of the 
seasons; and severe as would be such incessant 
service even in our temperate regions, it is infinite- 
ly more fatiguing and irksome, when one has to 
brave the sudden and extreme changes of an east- 
ern climate, Gen. xxxi. 40. In many parts of 
Asia, in the space of twenty-four hours, the differ- 
ence is actually as great as between the violent 
heat of summer and the intense cold of winter ; so 
that the languishing native, who, during the day, 
could scarcely breathe the sultry atmosphere, is 
obliged to wrap himself up in the thickest garments 
to defend himself from the piercing cold of night. 
Thevenot, and many others, who traversed the 
plains of Mesopotamia, which were the scene of 
Jacob's adventures, have told us that they found 
the heats so scorching, that although they wore 
upon their heads a large black handkerchief, as the 
Orientals generally do, their foreheads were almost 
excoriated, their hands were almost stiffened with 
the drought, and the whole surface of their bodies 
experienced the most acute sensations ; while, on 
the other hand, the nights, to which they had at 
first looked forward with the greatest impatience 
for relief, were found to be so intensely cold, that 



84 EASTERN MANNERS. 

the thick furred cloaks of the country could scarcely 
keep them warm. And besides these severe 
changes of weather to which the Oriental shepherd 
is always exposed, he has to keep himself in readi- 
ness against many disasters, arising from the state 
of the climate and the country; against the impe- 
tuous torrents of the mountains which may sweep 
away, or the deceitful morasses that may swallow 
up his cattle ; against the storms of hail which beat 
with incredible violence, and the winds that blow 
with such vehemence, that the stakes of his tent 
are 'torn up and thrown to a distance ; and against 
many other calamities of which there is a graphic 
account in the first chapter of the history of Job, 
and which are the more to be dreaded and guarded 
against by the servants of a pastoral chief, because, 
according to the rigid practice, the losses that may 
be sustained must be made up to the smallest item. 
In reading these interesting facts, we learn to sym- 
pathize with the toil-worn shepherd of the East, 
who has to encounter all the varieties of the sea- 
sons, while he tends his flocks, day and night, on 
the wild and shelterless plains; and we find mate- 
rials out of which imagination may draw a picture 
of the wearisome and comfortless situation of Jacob 
on the Mesopotamian fields, when, during seven 
long years, he had to keep his solitary vigils with 
the flocks of his uncle. Nothing can show more 
strongly how deep was the impression which the 
image of the beloved fair one had made upon his 
heart. 

Determined,* at length, in consequence of the 
vexatious treatment of his father-in-law, who un- 
generously tried every means of taking advantage 

* Gen. xxxi. to the end. 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 85 

of him, to quit his service, he set out, under cover 
of night, with his wives and rising family, and nu- 
merous flocks and attendants, to establish himself 
in independence in his native country; and, as it 
was necessary, in order to escape pursuit, that he 
should use expedition, he used the precaution of 
providing the weaker and tenderer part of his tribe 
with suitable conveyances, such as are seldom used, 
however, but by the wealthiest pastoral chiefs. 
These were what are called haiidas or panniers, 
consisting of a light frame of wood, fixed on the 
back of a camel, with a seat on each side, and a 
covering to secure it from the rain and the sun. It 
is a very easy and indolent mode of travelling, 
though common only among the wives and fami- 
lies of the highest people in the East. And it 
seems to have been in one of these carriages that 
Rachel was sitting when she concealed her father's 
household gods, as we are informed, in the "camel's 
furniture." In this manner, the pastoral proces- 
sion was advancing, when intelligence unexpectedly 
reached them of the approach of Esau with four 
hundred men — the number and forced march of 
whom, convinced Jacob that the intentions of his 
brother were hostile, and that the long deferred 
day of reckoning with him for the wrongs he had 
done was at length arrived, Gen. xxxii. Deep and 
implacable revenge is so strong a feature in the 
character of the wandering tribes of Asia, that we 
do not wonder to find the injuries of his early life 
still rankling after the lapse of twenty years, in the 
breast of Esau ; nor are we surprised at the terror 
which the anticipated interview produced in the 
mind of Jacob, who expected that the whole of his 
defenceiess people should fall a prey to the impe- 
tuous resentment of his enemy. And yet, no 



96 EASTERN MANNERS. 

sooner did the two tribes meet, than instead of a 
deadly encounter, the chiefs laid down the weapons 
of war, and exchanged such tokens of ardent affec- 
tion and friendship, as must appear altogether un- 
accountable, without attending to the circumstances 
of this truly Oriental scene. On hearing of his 
brother being near, Jacob divided his tribe, accord- 
ing to a method always practised in cases of dan- 
ger, into two bands — in the first of which were the 
least valuable of his attendants and flocks, while 
the rear was occupied with the larger beasts of 
burden, and the different members of his family, 
ready for flight, if the former division were at- 
tacked; and, at the same time, he despatched seve- 
ral confidential servants before him, with a princely 
present of milch cows and camels, which are of 
the greatest value to a wandering people, instruct- 
ing them to deliver it as a token from "the servant 
Jacob to his lord." The frequency with which he 
repeated this and other terms of submission, and 
the anxiety he displayed that his servants should 
omit none of these expressions of humility when 
they reached the presence of Esau, must be under- 
stood as the usual methods which an Eastern chief 
or master takes to convey his respects and homage 
to his superior; while the servants, carefully imi- 
tate his looks, words, and gestures, in their delivery 
of the message, accompanying them with the men- 
tion of every little circumstance they can think of, 
which may show the depth of his sorrow and sub- 
mission. Such mimic representations of the obei- 
sance of Jacob, together with the presentation of 
the imposing gift, being made to Esau in presence 
of his own dependents, could not fail to make a fa- 
vourable impression on the heart of that chief, 
whose pride and ambition were gratified by the ac- 



PATRIARCHAL LIFE. 87 

knowledgment of his superiority. Nor was this 
all the means which Jacob took to appease his bro- 
ther, for, having desired his messengers to say to 
Esau that "his servant Jacob" was himself on his 
way to throw himself at the feet of his lord, he soon 
made his appearance, assuming an attitude of hu- 
mility the most profound that can well be conceived. 
Placing his wives and family behind him, and com- 
manding them to do as he did, he began to bow 
himself with his face almost prostrate on the ground 
the moment he came in sight of his brother, and 
then rising, would walk a little forward, till h£ had 
renewed his prostrations seven times, as is done on 
similar occasions still. This profound submission 
of the chief and his whole family, soon melted the 
heart of Esau, and, in a tumult of feelings, he ran 
forward and gave to him, whose life he had come 
to take, the embrace of the most cordial affection. 
One characteristic circumstance that happened at 
the close of the scene, must not be omitted. The 
generous Esau refused to accept so costly a pre- 
sent; whereupon Jacob, perhaps entertaining doubts 
of the permanence of his brother's affections, en- 
treated him, in the most earnest manner, to receive 
it, as a sure evidence that "he had found grace in 
his sight." 

According to Eastern customs, the acceptance 
of the gift was indispensable to a real reconcilia- 
tion and intercourse; and had it been declined, 
that circumstance would both have affronted Jacob,, 
and annoyed him with fears that his brother's af- 
fectionate reception of him was owing to the im- 
pulse of momentary feeling, rather than to genuine 
friendship. It was evidently from such impres- 
sions that he pressed his present on the acceptance 
of his brother; and as it was at length received, he 



88 EASTERN MANNERS. 

departed from this dreaded relative under the 
strongest assurance of a cordial reconciliation that 
Eastern manners admit of.* 



CHAPTER III. 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 

Condition of slaves in Egypt and the East— rank and powers of 
Eastern jailors — frequent and sudden elevation of slaves — story of 
Ali Bey — ceremony of investiture and badge of office — Joseph's en- 
tertainment of his brethren — presents of garments a mark of distinc- 
tion — dress of immense importance — splendid honours at the fune- 
rals of the Egyptian kings — preservation of the dead by embalming 
— oppressive policy and infanticide — exposure of Moses — gross idola- 
try of the ancient Egyptians — adaptatiou of the plagues to the 
habits of the Egyptians — curious tradition of the passage of the Red 
Sea. 

Of the manners of the Eg)^ptians in the age of the 
patriarchs, our knowledge is very limited — being 
obtained solely, in the first instance, from following 
the adventures of a Hebrew slave, who fulfilled an 
important purpose of Providence in that country; 
and, subsequently, from the brief and rapid account 
of the early life of Moses ; in both of which cases, 
the events described in the Sacred History, bear, 
almost exclusively, on the character and customs 
of the court. Selecting, then, according to the plan 
of this work, the most characteristic features of the 

* Roberts. 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 89 

history of these two illustrious personages, we 
direct our attention to the narrative of the favourite 
son of Jacob, whose fate it was to enter the land of 
the Pharaohs in the character of a slave, and to 
spend no unimportant period of his life in that hum- 
ble condition. In all the countries of the East, 
especially in Egypt, the treatment of such menials 
has been, from the earliest times, characterized by 
the greatest degree of humanity and kindness. They 
enjoy constant and familiar intercourse with the 
members of the family to which they belong, and 
their faithful services are frequently rewarded, by the 
kindness of their master, in being raised to higher 
stations of respectability and trust ; and sometimes to 
a nearer connexion with himself, by being honoured 
with the hand of one of his daughters. Nay, it is not 
uncommon for a rich Oriental, who has no children 
of his own, to adopt one of his favourite slaves as 
his son, and to bequeath his whole fortune to the 
freedman, to the exclusion of his nearest relations 
and friends. Thus, Pitts, who was for many years 
a slave in Algiers, in the house of a wealthy bache- 
lor, tells us that the old gentlemen conceived such 
an attachment for him, that he promised at his 
death to make him his heir, of which he gave him 
a solemn pledge. Maillett tells us, that Kamel, a 
Bey of Egypt, died when he was in that country, 
having married his daughter to his slave Hassan, 
and left him great part of the wealth which he had 
amassed in a long and prosperous life. And, in 
ancient times, we find that slaves, who were faith- 
ful, were regarded in a light no less favourable, 
since the childless Abraham speaks of Eliezer of 
Damascus, as the expected heir of the wealth and 
honours of his tribe, in preference to his nephew 
Lot. There can be no difficulty, then, in conceiv 
8* 



90 EASTERN MANNERS. 

ing that a youth of Joseph's amiable and well prin- 
cipled character, should rapidly rise in the estima- 
tion of his Egyptian master, and be at length hon- 
oured with the sole and irresponsible management 
of that prince's establishment. The honourable 
place he filled in the house of Potiphar, accords 
with the prevailing manners of the East ; and we 
should have been prepared for his further promo- 
tion, through the interest of the same patron, had 
not a base accusation broken the tie between them, 
aad consigned the unoffending son of Jacob to a pri- 
son. In that place of ignominy and confinement, 
his excellent character, under Providence, pro- 
cured him a relaxation of the reins of discipline; 
but, in order to understand his situation, it will be 
necessary to explain the character of an Eastern 
prison. 

In passing through the cities and villages of 
Asiatic countries, one looks in vain for the gloomy 
and sequestered building, whose massy walls and 
grated windows point it out as the cheerless residence 
of the sons of crime. Scarcely indeed, is there any 
point in which the notions and practices of the peo- 
ple of the East differ so essentially from ours, as in 
those which relate to the treatment of criminals ; for, 
while among us, there are places reared for the 
confinement of offenders, and officers specially ap- 
pointed to have the custody of them, the houses of 
the highest and greatest persons in the East, are 
not unfrequently dedicated to the purposes of a 
prison, and men who fill public and official stations 
of the greatest dignity, perform the duties of an 
office which, in our estimation, is the most ignoble. 
From the earliest times, the jails in the East have 
been of this description, and under the care of per- 
sons of elevated rank ; and as it is highly probable 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 91: 

that the place of Joseph's confinement was some 
dungeon, or secluded part of the house of Potiphar, 
who was the principal state officer of Egypt at the 
time, the knowledge of this circumstance furnishes 
a natural way of accounting for the freedom allow- 
ed to Joseph by the deputy jailor, who might have 
access to know his entire innocence of the charge 
that led to his being incarcerated ; and who, from 
his impression of the virtuous and honourable 
character of the young Hebrew, was persuaded he 
ran no risk in allowing his prisoner to go at large. 
Such discretionary power, no doubt, belonged to 
the Egyptian turnkey, as it does still to all jailors 
of the East, who, without being bound by any 
rules such as prevail in Europe, or being obliged 
to place their prisoners in certain cells, according 
to the magnitude of their offences, are required 
simply to produce them when called for by the 
king or the judges, and are left to the exercise of 
their own discretion, to determine whether the in- 
termediate treatment of the persons under their 
custody, shall be of a mild or a severe character. 
Of the former kind of treatment, RauwolfF gives a 
beautiful instance that came within his knowledge 
at Tripolis in Syria. He had some friends confined 
in the prison of that city, to whom he was allowed 
access at all hours. Sometimes he was permitted 
to remain with them all night, and there was no 
part either of the jail itself, or of the extensive gar- 
dens connected with it, over which the indulgent 
keeper did not give him and his friends the privi- 
lege of walking ; they were even entertained in the 
jailor's own apartment, treated as members of his 
own family, and enjoyed such unrestricted liberty 
of doing whatever, and going wherever, they pleas- 



92 EASTERN MANNERS. 

ed, that RauwolfF could see no difference between 
their condition and his own. A very different 
treatment was experienced by an Armenian mer- 
chant, who is mentioned by Chardin as having 
been thrown into prison for some cause or other. 
So long as his money lasted, and he possessed the 
means of satisfying the cupidity of the jailor, he 
met with the greatest humanity and kindness ; but 
the moment that his resources failed, and his adver- 
sary presented a handsome bribe to the jailor, he 
experienced an abatement of the kind attentions of 
his keeper. His privileges were first abridged ; he 
was then subjected to close confinement, and treat- 
ed with so great rigour, that he was not allowed 
any water but once in the twenty-four hours, and 
that, too, in the sultriest season of the year : and, 
last of all, he was thrown into an unwholesome 
dungeon, to complete the catastrophe which all this 
inhumanity was designed to hasten. 

Such discretionary powers having been vested 
in this description of officers from the earliest 
times, the knowledge of them affords a very ob- 
vious and satisfactory means of accounting for the 
extraordinary marks of attention and confidence 
which the Egyptian turnkey bestowed on Joseph ; 
since, on the supposition tnat he had discovered 
the falsity of the charge of which the Hebrew slave 
was accused, and was aware of the superior excel- 
lence and unimpeachable integrity of his character 
during the whole period of his service in the house 
of Potiphar, it was just what might have been ex- 
pected from a humane and considerate person, such 
as that jailor seems to have been, that he would 
extend all the indulgence that circumstances would 
admit of, towards an interesting and virtuous young 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 93 

man, wno had become the innocent victim of ma. 
lice.* 

In following Joseph along the course of his ex- 
traordinary fortunes, the circumstances that is most 
calculated to excite the astonishment of the reader 
of the sacred story, Is the rapidity of the advance- 
ment to almost royal power. It might naturally 
have been expected, that when circumstances had 
occurred, that afforded him an opportunity of ren- 
dering an important service to the King of Egypt, 
he would have been rewarded in a manner corres- 
ponding to the value which Pharoah set upon his 
counsel ; and that if he had been retained near 
the royal person, and placed in some office of 
emolument and power, where his talents might 
have been brought into public notice, it could not 
have been surprising that merits such as his should 
have gradually raised their possessor above all 
competition, and procured him, after a course of 
previous services, the station of vizier of Egypt. 
But that the march of the greatest and best regu- 
lated state then in the world, should elevate a foreign 
slave above all the courtiers, of whose fidelity and 
abilities he had long experience ; that he should 
raise this obscure stranger, all at once, from the 

*ln the baker's dream, he thought he had "three 
white baskets on his head." It has been, from time 
immemorial, the custom to carry burdens on the head, 
in all parts of the East. Even a light weight is borne 
on the head, in preference to its being carried in the 
hand ; and so strong are their heads from use, that they 
not unfrequently carry a weight which requires the 
united strength of three men to lift from the ground. 
"At Bidju," says Lander, "we saw women bearing on 
their heads burdens that would have tired a mule, and 
children not more than five or six years of age, trudged 
after them, with loads that would have given a lull 
grown person in Europe the brain fever." 



94 EASTERN MANNERS. 

darkness and degradation of a prison, to the in- 
fluence and splendour of the second rank in the 
kingdom ; and that, too, after having had only one 
brief interview with him, seems so romantic an in- 
cident, that it has been regarded by some as throw- 
ing an air of suspicion on the history that narrates 
it. But this conclusion is too hastily drawn. From 
the earliest times, in consequence of all the power 
and honour depending on the will of a single in- 
dividual, the wheel of fortune often revolves with 
such rapid movement in Eastern countries, that he 
who is lowest to-day, may be uppermost to-mor- 
row. And so little does meanness of condition 
prove an obstacle to the rise of the man whom the 
king intends to honour, that many of the greatest 
officers who have figured in Oriental history, have 
once borne the name and character of slaves. Nor 
is this at all wonderful, when it is considered, 
that, living as the people of these countries have 
always done, in a state of society where piracy as 
well as war exposes all men to the danger of fall- 
ing into slavery, persons of the highest stations, 
and possessed of the greatest accomplishments, 
may, by a thousand accidents, be carried into a 
foreign land, and bought and sold as slaves ; and as 
a great difference has always been made between 
persons who have lost their liberty in this manner, 
and those who have sprung from a race of slaves, 
it was a natural consequence, that when such per- 
sons had become naturalized, and given satisfactory 
proofs of ability and faithfulness, they should re- 
gain their freedom, and be honoured with the con- 
fidence and favour of their foreign masters. In no 
country more than in Egypt has this practice pre- 
vailed, where, even in modern times, those who 
long monopolized all the offices of power, and sta- 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 95 

tion (the Janissaries) consisted exclusively of men, 
who having been purchased abroad in their boy- 
hood, had been brought into the service of some 
military chief, and instructed by him in all the ac- 
complishments of an eastern grandee, till they were 
raised by the influence of their patron to a station 
of eminence. Maillet, in his Letters on Egypt, 
mentions, that when he was in that country, there 
was an eunuch, who had raised one of his slaves to 
the rank of prince ; and Niebuhr narrates the case 
of another, who had raised so many of his crea- 
tures to places of power, that of the eighteen beys 
who in his time ruled over Egypt, eight had been 
his slaves ; and of the seven agas or lieutenants of 
the great body of militia, five had once belonged to 
his household. 

It would be superfluous to detail at length the his- 
tory of these barbarians chiefs, which presents little 
matter to interest the reader beyond the general 
circumstance of illustrating, by their sudden eleva- 
tion, the manners described in the history of Jo- 
seph. But there are some passages in the life of 
one of them that bear so extraordinary a resem- 
blance to some incidents recorded in that of the 
Jewish patriarch, that we shall mention them. AH 
Bey, who was born in Lesser Asia, on the coast of 
the Black Sea, in the year 1728, and was the son 
of a Greek priest, a person of some distinction in his 
own country, was stolen away while he was 
amusing himself with hunting at the age of thir- 
teen, by some of his own countrymen, who fol- 
lowed the nefarious and cruel traffic of kidnapping 
children in order to sell them as slaves. Ah was 
sold to some Arabs who travelled with a yearly 
caravan to Egypt, and having been brought to the 
market of Cairo, passed from his Arab owners into 



96 EASTERN MANNERS. 

the service of a person of considerable eminence in 
that country. Having by his able and virtuous 
conduct succeeded in gaining the good opinion of 
his master, he was raised by him to some places 
of emolument, till, by successive promotions, he rose 
to be Sheik-Bellet of Egypt — the first of the Beys 
in that country, and head of the Egyptian republic, 
acknowledging no other superior than the Pacha, 
who was then superior rather in honour and out- 
ward form, than in real power. For a long course 
of years, Ali maintained himself in that dignified 
station, and spread the lustre of his name over 
many of the neighbouring lands by the number and 
brilliancy of his conquests, and the vigour of his 
administration. During his prosperity he was not 
unmindful of his father, to find out whom he dis- 
patched a trusty messenger to Constantinople, who 
was commissioned to endeavour to prevail on the 
aged priest to come and see all his son's glory in 
Egypt. The messenger was successful in the 
search, and when Daout (David), which was the 
name of the priest, approached Cairo, the capital 
of Egypt, where the Sheik-Bellet resided, Ali went 
out of the city for several miles, attended with a 
splendid retinue, to meet and welcome his father; 
and as soon as he saw him, he alighted, and falling 
on his knees, kissed the hand and received the 
blessing of his venerable parent. Returning to the 
palace, Daout's feet being washed by the attendants, 
he was led into the harem or family apartments, 
where Ali presented to him his wife and infant 
child, and he continued for a long time to enjoy 
the company 'of his son, and the fruits of his high 
station and splendour in Egypt.* Thus far many 

* Harmer. 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 97 

of the most remarkable circumstances in the his- 
tory of this modern Egyptian Bey, bear a resem- 
blance to those of the son of Jacob, a resemblance 
striking in itself, but not more so than might have 
been expected in the case of two persons who were 
reduced each from respectable stations into slavery 
in a foreign land, and who were possessed of the 
natural and acquired abilities by which their ad- 
vancement was insured. But the points of simi- 
larity extend no further, since, while Ali Bey re- 
nounced the Christian faith, in which he had been 
reared, for tne Mohammedan superstitions of Egypt ; 
while his father was soon after obliged to leave him 
in consequence of the troubles that arose in that 
country, and he himself experienced a miserable 
reverse, dying in prison of the wounds he received 
in the fatal battle that hurled him from power, Jo- 
seph maintained an inviolable attachment to the 
faith of his fathers, had the happiness of enjoying 
to the last the company of his venerable father, and 
died himself full of years and full of honour, in the 
land which his wise and enlightened policy had 
done so much to preserve and improve. There is, 
however, amid many features of resemblance, an 
interest in the whole of the Hebrew story, which 
raises it far above that of the modern Bey of 
Egypt, not only in the circumstance of the high 
moral excellence of the character of Joseph, but of 
his adventures, being the first link in that chain of 
events, by which Providence has designed to show 
his mighty power and his peculiar concern in the 
pure religion which distinguished the family of Ja- 
cob among all the superstitions of Egypt ; and there 
cannot be a doubt, therefore, that, however naturally 
the course of Joseph's history accorded with the 
manners of his age, and with the immemorial prac- 
9 



98 EASTERN MANNERS. 

tices of the East, the special providence of God 
was exercised over the fortunes of a youth, with 
whose personal history were connected so many 
contingencies, involving the fate of an empire, and 
the moral interests of a world. 

The brief notice which the sacred historian has 
taken of the pomp and circumstance that marked 
the introduction of the new minister of Pharaoh to 
the Egyptians, although it embraces only a few 
articles of pageantry, probably comprehends all the 
principal parts of a ceremony, which, in all East- 
ern countries, has always been of the most im- 
posing character. The bestowal of the royal ring, 
and the dress of fine linen, and the splendid equi- 
page which Pharaoh presented to the youth, who 
was deemed worthy of elevation to the first office 
in his kingdom, were not simply tokens of the 
royal good will, and given for the private use of 
the favourite, — they were badges of office, forming 
necessary parts of the investiture of Joseph with 
official authority ; and as the mode in which that 
ceremony is still conducted in the East, is in all 
probability the same as it was in the age of Joseph, 
it may assist the imagination of the reader, in 
forming an idea of the ancient Egyptian pageant 
described by Moses, to give an account of a similar 
exhibition, which a European traveller witnessed in 
the same country, in the course of the last century. 
While the traveller was there, one of the Beys 
died, and the Pacha having appointed a successor, 
preparations were made for his public instalment 
into his new dignity, which is always done by a 
deputy specially sent from the court. On the day 
fixed for that purpose, the new governor, accom- 
panied by his guard, and a numerous retinue of 
friends and other spectators, issued from the town 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 99 

where he resided to meet the royal messenger. As 
soon as he came within sight of the expected caval- 
cade, he and his attendants, after making many 
profound obeisances to the tokens of the royal 
presence and favour, moved along with the proces- 
sion to the spot fixed for the ceremony. The form 
of the investiture was as follows : — First of all, there 
was presented on a large and magnificent salver, a 
ring, in which was a signet, inscribed with the 
name of the Pacha, which was suspended by a blue 
ribbon round the neck of the dignitary, and the 
effect of which is to give the weight and authority 
of the court to all the commands which the Vice- 
roy may issue. There was next brought, on a 
large and richly ornamented wooden board, a Tea- 
laat, or dress of honour, on the appearance of 
which several of the attendants stepped forth to 
assist the Viceroy in taking off his old clothes and 
putting on his robe of distinction. It consisted of 
a ponderous brocade coat, reaching from head to 
foot, and another vest trimmed with furs, both of 
which were gratuitously bestowed by the Pacha, 
although the person honoured with them would 
have to pay far more than their value, in the form 
of presents, to the bearer of the royal gift. There 
was next, the presentation of a stately charger, 
richly caparisoned, on which the new governor was 
mounted in state, after w^hich the firman or com- 
mission of the Pacha was read, in which he set 
forth the virtues of his minister, and explained the 
reasons that induced him to bestow such a mark of 
confidence on that individual. All these prelimi- 
naries being gone through, the whole procession, 
consisting of an immense concourse of people, some 
on horseback, and others on foot, with flags, music, 
and other accompaniments of a festive occasion 



100 EASTERN MANNERS. 

returned to the residence of the governor. Along 
the whole way, the road was strewed with boughs 
of trees and splendid garments, and the van was led 
by a band of criers, who chanted in loud strains the 
fame of their new master, and called on his sub- 
jects to give him all the demonstrations of attach- 
ment and homage which Oriental servility is wont 
to lavish on the occupiers of power — a mode of 
honouring him precisely similar to that which, at 
the command of Pharaoh, the Egyptians paid to 
Joseph, when they cried before him, as he passed 
along in his state carriage, " Bow the knee." These 
various tokens of distinction which form essential 
parts of the ceremony of investiture, are the tenure 
by which the viziers and ministers of Eastern 
monarchs hold their office, and on the preservation 
of which depends their continual enjoyment of the 
royal favour. The first indication of disgrace is 
their deprivation of these; and any accident by 
which they are damaged or lost, which is traceable 
to negligence, would be sure to occasion the fall of 
the man of power. Of the value of the ring in this 
respect, an illustration is given by Morier in his 
Second Journey through Persia. The day on 
which he and his party arrived at Khaumandge, 
the Mehmander or Governor was thrown into great 
agitation, from missing his seal from his bosom, 
where it was always carried. Messengers were 
instantly despatched to search all over the road 
they had passed, and on the signet being recovered, 
the Mehmander testified, by his pleasure at finding 
it, how important the loss would have been to him 
had he been so unfortunate as not to have regained 
possession of it. The preservation of the dress of 
honour is no Jess essential to a minister's continu- 
ance in the favour of an Eastern prince, of which 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 101 

a remarkable instance is recorded by Chardin. An 
officer of the Persian court, wishing to be revenged 
on another who was absent, sent him, instead of a 
royal kalaat, a plain habit. The vizier, not daring 
to return into the city in that habit, and fearing lest 
the people should despise him if they saw him so 
ill dressed when he was in the king's service, as 
one who had lost his reputation at court, sent home 
for a royal habit, one of the richest and most mag- 
nificent the late king had given him, and made his 
entry in it. This circumstance becoming known, 
excited the indignation of the whole court, who, 
not being* aware of the cause, conceived that the 
vizier had disdainfully thrown away the royal 
robes, as not so superb as those he already pos- 
sessed ; and the report soon reaching the king, in- 
flamed his resentment to such a degree, that he 
ordered the vizier's head to be taken off."* 

The reception of Joseph's brethren on their ar- 
rival in Egypt, was attended with many circum- 
stances of so strange a nature, that a knowledge of 
the customs of ancient Egypt is essentially neces- 
sary to the right understanding of them. The ap- 
plication of the Hebrews, in the first instance, to 
the steward of Joseph, their fears when invited to 
enter his house, and the arrangement of the ban- 
quet at which they were present, are circumstances 
of a purely oriental character. To this day, nothing, 

* The words of Pharaoh to Joseph, when he invested 
him with power, were, "■ Thou shalt be over my house, 
and according unto thy word shall all my people be 
ruled" — literally kiss. It was customary for inferiors 
to testify their respect by kissing whatever was deliver- 
ed to them by a superior, and putting it to their forehead 
The language of Pharaoh implied that the people would 
receive Joseph's orders with the profoundest respect. 
9* 



102 EASTERN MANNERS. 

says Mr. Roberts, is more common in India / than 
for persons from the country, who come to do busi- 
ness, or to have an interview, with a great man, not 
to go to him first, but to find out the head servant, 
secure his interest by a present, and ascertain from 
him the disposition and views of his master, so as 
to regulate their conduct accordingly. When they 
are told to go into the house, as it is so unusual for 
them to be under a roof, they are afraid they are 
about to be punished or confined. And in regard 
to the manner of introduction of the Hebrews into 
Joseph's presence, and of their subsequent enter- 
tainment, it is so like the etiquette of the old courts 
and families of Hindostan,* that we prefer illus- 
trating it by a story from the history of that coun- 
try to giving any general description. Among the 
tribes that came to acknowledge the sovereignty of 
Aurungzebe, was a deputation from the Tartars of 
Usbeck, who, on their arrival, were admitted to an 
audience. They made, as we are told by an eye- 
witness, their reverence at a considerable distance 
from the monarch, prostrating themselves several 
times on the ground, putting thrice their hands upon 
their heads, and as often letting them down to the 
earth. In this manner they slowly approached 
him, so near that Aurungzebe might easily have 
taken their letters with his own hand, or held com- 
munication with them personally ; but both were 
done through an omrah or interpreter. They forth- 
with offered their presents, consisting of the choicest 
productions of their country ; whereupon the king 
having declared himself satisfied with their gene- 

* Hindostan was peopled by a colony from Egypt, and 
hence the resemblance of many Indian customs to those 
of ancient Egypt. 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 103 

rosity, and desired that they should go and repose 
themselves after the fatigues of their journey, inti- 
mated that they should have the honour of dining 
with him at noon. The banquet was arranged in 
the following order : — The king himself, at the up- 
per end of the room, sat alone at a small square 
table, about two feet from the ground ; while his 
courtiers and the Tartar deputies were ranged along 
the opposite walls, with their backs to each other ; 
many of the guests at both tables, receiving from 
the table of the monarch marks of his politeness 
and attention. Let the reader only change the 
names, and he will have a vivid idea of the party 
of natives and Canaanitish shepherds, that partook 
of the banquet of the Egyptian minister. The 
sending a piece of meat* from the table of a land- 
lord, is still, throughout the East, considered a 
token of particular regard, which may be still fur- 
ther enhanced by the size of the portion, and a 
gentle squeeze of it in the hand, before despatching 
it to the object of distinction ; and where difference 
of castes prevails, as in Hindostan and ancient 
Egypt, the different parties who may happen to be. 
present at an entertainment, are always seated apart: 
at separate tables. Thus, Sir Thomas Roe, when 
in the former country, being invited by one of the 
principal governors to a banquet in his country 



* So much is the sending of a piece of meat from one 
person to another considered a mark of regard, that 
Carne, who was hospitably entertained by an Egyptian 
Aga, received from his host the choicest pieces of meat 
which lie took up with his fingers and placed before the 
guest; and on another occasion, when stopping for the 
night in an empty khan or inn, one of the travellers, 
wishing to give him a proof of his respect, threw him a 
piece of meat, though at the distance of several yards. 



104 EASTERN MANNERS. 

house, when the entertainment was served, the 
host came and excused himself, saying, it was their 
custom to eat among themselves, and his country- 
men would take it amiss if he did not eat with them. 
So he and his guests were entertained at one table, 
and the Englishman and his friends at another. 

When Joseph had prepared the way for the re- 
moval of his father, and the rest of his family, to 
Egypt, he was naturally desirous that their first 
appearance in that country should be in circum- 
stances likely to command the respect of his adopted 
countrymen; and, accordingly, one of his first 
cares, after providing them with a suitable equipage 
for their journey, was to equip them for presenta- 
tion at court, in a manner worthy of their alliance 
with the second magistrate in the kingdom. There 
was no peculiarity in the circumstance of his fur- 
nishing them with a sumptuous dress for the grand 
occasion, both because it is customary among all 
people, for those who are privileged to approach 
the presence of royalty, to be decked in the gayest 
and costliest attire, and because, from his ample 
means and noble rank, he must have been better 
acquainted than these simple swains from the moun- 
tains of Canaan, with all the niceties of the Egyp- 
tian court etiquette. But the remarkable circum- 
stance in the equipment of Joseph's brethren is, 
that all of them were supplied with several changes 
of raiment, and to Benjamin were given five changes ; 
a supply which conveys the idea that, at the Egyp- 
tian court, the honour consisted in appearing suc- 
cessively in a great variety of dresses; and accord- 
ingly we learn, on the testimony of modern travel- 
lers, that the custom still prevails for the grandees 
of the Eastern courts to consider the greatest dis- 
tinction as belonging to those who have it in their 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 105 

power to show themselves in a variety of sumptu- 
ous robes. Gen. xlv. 22. The origin of such a 
practice seems to be, that in the East, these courtly 
garments are invariably the gift of the king; and 
none are permitted to appear in his presence in any 
dress that is not furnished from the royal wardrobe. 
Even foreigners of distinction, though decked in the 
richest costume of their own country, are obliged 
to comply with this custom of the East; of which 
a curious instance occurred to a European embassy 
at the court of Persia. The king having sent to 
invite the ambassadors to dine with him, the Meh- 
mander told them, on their arrival at the palace, 
that it was the custom that they should wear over 
their own clothes the best of those garments which 
the king had sent them. The ambassadors at first 
made some scruples about complying; but, on being 
told that it was a custom observed by all ambassa- 
dors, and that, no doubt, the king would be highly 
affronted if they presented themselves before him 
without the marks of his liberality, they resolved 
to do it, and the whole of their retinue followed the 
example. To supply these robes of honour to 
such as they intend to admit to an audience, the 
princes of the East have always immense wardrobes 
of the most splendid vestments ; and, of course, they 
have no difficulty in at once bestowing on any 
new candidate for their favour, a garment exactly 
corresponding to the degree of honour they mean 
to confer. And with such scrupulous ceremony 
are these always adapted to the degree of estima- 
tion in which the wearers are held by the prince, 
or the eminence of their station, that, in an as- 
semblage of the officers and grandees of an Eastern 
court, the rank and quality of each may be easily 
discovered by his dress. The principle, however, 



106 EASTERN MANNERS. 

on which it is distributed to those whom the king 
intends to honour, varies in different countries of 
the East; for while, in the Indies, and several other 
countries, it consists of different degrees of fineness 
and richness, according to the rank or merit of the 
person to whom it is given; in Persia, Turkey, and 
as it seems in ancient Egypt, the difference of 
quality in the garments is not attended to. The 
dress of all who are admitted to court is very much 
alike, and the honour lies in the number that is 
given. In the year 1765, the King of Persia 
having granted pardon to an exiled prince, Teimu- 
ras-Khan, and also permission to return to court, 
sent messengers to meet and welcome him as soon 
as he reached the frontiers. One of the officers 
appointed to conduct him was charged with the 
task of defraying all the prince's expenses in his 
progress, and of carrying a very rich present, in 
which, among other things, and with a view of 
preparing him to appear at court, were Jive com- 
plete suits of clothes. It must consequently happen, 
that in all countries where such customs prevail, 
dress will be regarded as a matter of the greatest 
importance, and that he who is distinguished by 
the superior fineness, or variety of clothes in which 
he can attire himself, will command the greatest 
deference and respect. To have no other decora- 
tions for the person, than what is supplied from 
one's private fortune, is the indication of an indi- 
vidual who belongs to an humble and obscure con- 
dition; whereas, to be capable of appearing in a 
rich robe of purple or scarlet, embroidered with 
gold, is the high and enviable distinction of one 
who is basking in the sunshine of royal favour, and 
who at once receives the homage and respect of the 
multitude. This importance of dress in the East, 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 107 

Niebuhr, the celebrated traveller, discovered, when 
he received from the Imam of Dowlah a present of 
a complete suit of clothes ; and Mr. Bruce also, 
when on his return from Abyssinia, he received 
from Osman, one of the Beys of Egypt, a rich robe 
of honour. His appearance in that distinguished 
garb produced an immediate and extraordinary 
change in the feelings and views of those to whose 
care he was entrusted. The haughty Mussulmans 
no sooner beheld him retiring from the presence- 
chamber with that token of their master's regard, 
than, laying aside the brutality and rudeness they 
had shown towards him at first, they treated him 
with the most marked civility and obsequiousness. 
Since it appears that the same ideas of respectabili- 
ty, connected with dress, prevailed in ancient Egypt, 
we at once discover the reason why Joseph took 
the precaution of providing his brethren with a va- 
riety of the most sumptuous dresses worn in that 
country. That amiable and prudent minister was 
well aware of the inveterate prejudices which the 
Egyptians entertained against the whole pastoral 
race ; and that, as his family had for ages followed 
the occupation of shepherds, not even his great in- 
fluence, and the debt of obligation which the nation 
owed him, would be able to secure for the house 
of Israel a hospitable and welcome reception, if 
they appeared, in what was universally deemed, 
the mean character and garb of keepers of sheep. 
The funeral of Jacob was conducted on a scale 
of magnificence, such as to display on the part of 
Joseph a suitable tribute of respect to the memory 
of his venerable parent. When we consider that 
the place, where all that was mortal of Israel was 
destined to lie, was nearly three hundred miles 
distant from the borders of Egypt ; and that the 



108 EASTERN MANNERS. 

most extensive preparations would be necessary to 
convey the solemn cavalcades over such a journey, 
consisting of almost the whole nobility and army 
of Egypt with their equipages, we may imagine 
how grand and imposing this procession must have 
been, and how much it was calculated, as it moved 
along, to impress the people of the intermediate 
countries with a high idea of the glory of the 
Egyptians, and of him who was the second ruler 
in the kingdom. The whole description conveys 
the idea, that the manner in which the obsequies 
of Jacob were celebrated was Egyptian ; and as 
the splendour which accompanied it was such as 
usually distinguished the funeral of the highest 
personages of the realm, we may conceive what 
sort of spectacle this was, and the manner in which 
the Egyptians testified their mourning during the 
seven days they halted for that purpose on their 
arrival at the confines of Canaan, from a curious 
and graphic account which an ancient historian 
has given of the interment of an Egyptian king. 
It was on the occasion of the death of the illus- 
trious Sesostris, the whole kingdom went into 
mourning, rending their garments, shutting up 
their temples, and putting a stop to all sacrifices ; 
feasts and solemnities were offered for the space of 
seventy days, after which the day of the funeral 
having arrived, the procession moved to the vault 
where the monarchs of Egypt were laid. On ap- 
proaching it, they halted for the space of several 
days, during which the body was exposed in a 
coffin at the entrance of the sepulchre, where, in 
pursuance of a law, the actions of his life were re- 
cited, the priests pronounced the eulogy of the il- 
lustrious dead, and the whole multitude joined in 
extolling the memory of their lamented king. For 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 109 

that long lime they gave themselves up to the most 
passionate exclamations of grief. Companies of 
two or three hundred men and women, with dust 
on their heads, and girt with linen girdles, march- 
ed solemnly in procession twice a day, singing the 
praises of Sesostris in mournful dirges, and com- 
memorating his virtues, in order to excite the grief 
of the bystanders. All this while they abstained 
from flesh and meat, as also from wine and other 
delicacies. They neither bathed nor anointed 
themselves, nor slept in their beds, but every one 
mourned night and day as for the loss of a beloved 
father or friend ; and their manner of expressing it 
was very peculiar. The whole multitude, excited 
by the hired mourners, who were great adepts in 
the art of inflaming the passions, burst forth into 
the most furious and piercing cries. Every day 
they renewed their shrieks at dawn, continuing for 
a long time, and manifesting the greatest vehemence 
of feeling and gesture. The longest and most vio- 
lent acts were, when they had laid down the body 
previous to depositing it in the place of interment, 
when taking the last farewell of it. Their cries 
were then long and frightful, and seemed as if they 
were uttered by persons who were overwhelmed 
with despair. Of this description seem to have 
been the occupations of the company that com- 
posed the funeral procession of Jacob when they 
halted on approaching the borders of Canaan. 
Here, at the threshing-floor of Atad, the whole 
procession stopped during the protracted term of 
seven days, and indulged in the most passionate 
expressions of grief. It is customary with many 
of the Asiatics still on such occasions, at various 
intervals between the death and funeral of their 
friends, when they are about to lay their dead in 
10 



110 EASTERN MANNERS. 

the tomb, to resign themselves to the full tide of 
sorrow, and pour out their effusions of grief more 
copiously as they approach the place and time, 
when the remains of their departed friends are to 
be for ever withdrawn from their eyes. It seems 
to have been in order to embrace this last opportu- 
nity of mourning, that the Egyptians halted, as 
they passed the limits of the land where the body 
of Jacob was to lie. In the sad farewell the whole 
assembly joined, " mourning with a great and very 
sore lamentation" for seven days ; and the people of 
the place, judging the extremity of their grief by 
their frantic cries and wild gesticulations, which for 
so long a period they indulged, perpetuated the 
memory of the extraordinary and affecting scene, 
by calling that spot ever after by the name of Abel- 
Mizraim, " the mourning of the Egyptians." 

It seems to have been according to the will of 
Providence, as well as the ardent wishes of the 
venerable father of Israel himself, that his remains 
should be carried, immediately after his death, to 
the land of promise, in order that the three pa- 
triarchs, with whom God had entered into cove- 
nant, might, as it were, by their latest act, take 
possession of the country which was the destined 
inheritance of their tribes, and, by their deaths as 
well as their lives, afford examples of faith to those 
who could come after them. But Joseph himself 
was not conveyed to the land of Canaan, till the 
whole race emigrated to that chosen settlement ; 
his corpse being retained in Egypt, and disposed 
of in the costly and elaborate manner in which the 
Egyptians were wont to preserve their dead. This 
office was performed by the embalmers ; a class of 
persons who were held in the greatest estimation, 
and who composed, together with the priests, the 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. Ill 

highest order of nobility in the land. On applica- 
tion being made to them to take charge of a dead 
body, they exhibited to the relations models of 
mummies highly finished and painted in wood, 
done up in three different ways, and at three dif- 
ferent rates ; any of which they put it in the power 
of the friends to chose. The first of these me- 
thods being the most magnificent, cost about a 
talent of silver — the second, which was consider- 
ably inferior, both in the materials and the execu- 
tion, cost no more than twenty minse — the cost of 
the third was a mere trifle.* The difference be- 
tween these various kinds of embalming consisted 
almost entirely in the relative value of the ointments 
and other materials that were used, as the operation 
in all cases was nearly the same. It was per- 
formed in the following manner. The first step in 
the process was taken by the scribe, who marked 
on the body the length of the incision that was to 
be made on the left side. He then directed an at- 
tendant to make the opening according to the di- 
mensions he had marked, which being done by 
means of an Ethiopian stone, the individual imme- 
diately took flight, being pursued by the curses and 
missiles of the spectators ; for it was considered a 
heinous offence, and one that subjected the person 
to the impution of the greatest cruelty, to inflict 
any wound on a human body, particularly when it 
was in a state incapable of defence. In the case of 
the embalmers, this expression of feeling on the 
part of the bystanders was a mere form, and the 
individual who had run off soon returned to con- 



* The Egyptian talent of silver was equal to about 
£228 Sterling, (about $1000,) and 20 minee were equal 
to about £51, (about $250.) 



112 EASTERN MANNERS. 

tinue his task. Through the aperture made in the 
side, they drew out the intestines, which were 
cleansed with palm wine, and then covered over 
with aromatics. The body was then filled with a 
composition of powdered cassia, myrrh, and 
various other spices ; and, after the brain had been 
extracted, and its place filled with balm, the body 
was sewed up, and kept in a covering of nitre for 
the space of seventy days. It was then washed, 
enveloped in linen cloth, and anointed with gum. 
Such was the most sumptuous method of embalm- 
ing among the Egyptians, and the other modes dif- 
fered from it chiefly in this, that, instead of the 
valuable spices which were employed, the chief in- 
gredient used in them was a simple liniment made 
from the cedar, and the same elaborate care was 
not bestowed, either in extracting the intestines, or 
anointing the body. On the expiration of the 
seventy days, the corpse, " retaining," says an an- 
cient historian, "all the appearance of a living per- 
son," was restored to the surviving friends, who 
enclosed it in a wooden box, made in the shape of 
a human figure, and deposited it in the repository of 
the dead. From this place of repose, which was 
generally a hollow vault contiguous to the house, 
the bodies of their deparied friends were brought 
out at their festivals, ranged in an upright posture 
in different corners of the apartment where their 
banquets were held, and the history and merits of 
each recounted to the younger branches of the 
family.* 

* The preceding account of the embalment of the 
Egyptians we have given on the testimony of Herodotus 
and Diodorus Siculus, both of whom profess to have re- 
ceived it from the priests of Egypt. It is now, however, 
generally allowed that their account is insufficient, and 
that some other ingredients, which the interested self- 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 113 

The second source of information, respecting the 
manners of Egypt, is obtained from the early his- 
tory of that illustrious Hebrew, who, though adopted 
and bred a prince of the blood, preferred sharing 
in the fortunes of his persecuted countrymen, to all 
the splendid prospects that awaited him in the land 
of his adoption. Exodus xi. The infancy of this 
renowned personage unfolds a tale of woe, to un- 
derstand which, it is necessary to premise, that in 
consequence of a revolution in Egypt, the throne 
was occupied by a king of a new dynasty, who 
was unacquainted with the claims of the Hebrew 
family to the gratitude of that country. The new 
monarch seeing in them only a distinct and foreign 
race, whose vast numbers might soon make them 
formidable to the state, resolved on reducing them 
to a helpless and degraded state; dooming the 
adults to a series of the most oppressive labours, 
and gradually extirpating the whole race by the 
murder of all the male children, while the females 
were spared, not in mercy, but to grow up and fill 
the harems of their masters. The infamy of such 
measures, for the oppression of a people, must not 
be considered as lying wholly on the Egyptian 

ishness the priests concealed, were indispensable to 
the mummifying process. An ingenious and promising 
young author has satisfactorily shown that large quan- 
tities of bituminous matter were first introduced into 
the great cavities of the body ; that there was then a 
strong heat applied to dry up the body, and decompose 
the vegetable tar so copiously injected, and that the 
spices and perfumes which the ancient historians men- 
tion as the principal ingredients, were merely matters 
of ceremony resorted to, to hide from the knowledge 
of the people the real substances used in the process 
of embalment.— See an interesting Essay on Creosote, 
by John R. Cormack, M. D., which gamed the Har- 
veian prize. 

10* 



114 EASTERN MANNERS. 

government of that day ; for the same stern policy 
has often been pursued by the despots of the East, 
who are known, even in recent times, to have 
sought to strengthen the foundations of their throne 
by subjecting to a grinding servitude, those of 
whose spirit and combinations they are jealous. 
Thus Knox, in his History of Ceylon, says, that the 
king of that country frequently employs his people 
in the execution of immense works, in order to ac- 
custom them to submission, and afford them no 
leisure nor opportunity for meditating plans of re- 
bellion; and Carne saw, not many years ago, in 
the neighbourhood of Cairo, a vast number of Arabs, 
whom the Pacha of Egypt had pressed into his 
service, and was employing, not indeed in the 
manufacture of bricks, but in the formation of a 
new canal. On approaching the lofty bank, the 
innumerable workmen were observed in the bed of 
the canal below, toiling in the intense heat of the 
day, while their Egyptian taskmasters, with whips 
in their hands, watched the progress of their la- 
bour; and the traveller was struck with the just 
and lively representation the scene afforded of the 
children of Israel, forced to toil by their oppres- 
sive masters of old. Nor has the plan of prevent- 
ing the increase of a redundant population by "the 
massacre of innocents," become either obsolete or 
rare, in the eastern quarter of the globe ; as the 
banks of the Ganges, and the cities of the Chinese 
Empire still annually echo with the death-cries of 
many thousand infants; and in the South Sea 
Islands, a missionary states, that twenty-four help- 
less victims were daily sacrificed in the place where 
he resided, on the altar of jealous despotism. It 
was while the counsellors of ancient Egypt had 
authorized the terrors of a similar system, and the 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 115 

relentless execution of their orders made every mo- 
ther in Israel bewail, "when a man-child was born 
into the world/' that Moses was born and preserved, 
his parents having ventured to disobey the sangui- 
nary edict. For three months their precious 
secret never transpired ; and when circumstances 
at length occurred to render their former method 
of protecting their infant no longer practicable, 
having no other place of safety provided, they ex- 
posed the little innocent near the river, in the hope 
that it might escape detection for a while, or ar- 
rest the notice of some benevolent passenger. 

Of the life of Moses, during the time of his resi 
dence in the palace, the sacred history has pre- 
served no record, only we are informed that his 
education was conducted on a most extensive scale. 
" Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyp- 
tians." Nor do we know, with certainty, how soon 
he had begun to concern himself in the affairs of 
his countrymen, although his mind seems at an 
early period to have formed the purpose of render- 
ing useful, though clandestine services to his op- 
pressed countrymen. The only interpositions, how- 
ever, in their cause which are recorded, chiefly as 
it appears from the consequences to which they gave 
rise, were, the one on occasion of a tyrannical op- 
pression of a native over a Hebrew, when he slew 
the Egyptian and buried him in the sand ; the other 
on occasion of a fierce altercation between two Is- 
raelites, when his efforts to terminate the quarrel 
were rewarded with reproaches of being an inter- 
meddler. " Who," said one of the parties, " made 
thee a prince or a ruler over us?" Exod. xi. 12. 
This bold language was evidently dictated by the 
excited feelings of the speaker ; but it seems to im- 
ply the prevalence of a custom among the Hebrews 



116 EASTERN MANNERS. 

of that age, which is common in all parts of the 
East, particularly in India, that every caste or par- 
ticular class of people has chiefs or great men, who 
are entrusted with the power of maintaining inter- 
nal order, and punishing all violations of the rules 
of the society. The punishments they are qualified 
to inflict are of a lighter kind, such as fines or 
stripes ; and although they are not invested with 
legal authority, their influence is acknowledged, and 
their office respected by all in the tribe. Every 
smaller division of it, and in some places of the 
East, every trade and profession has its hereditary 
chief — whose province it is to decide all disputes; 
ana 1 in cases of difficulty, where the arbitration of 
a single person would not be satisfactory, an as- 
sembly is called of all the chiefs or princes of the 
society; and it rarely, if ever happens, that their 
decision is not acquiesced in."* For instance, in 
Asiatic Turkey, the different classes of Armenians, 
Jews, Greeks, and other Franks, are by an impe- 
rial edict placed on the same footing before the Di- 
van, as the native Turks: that is, they cannot be 
condemned in criminal cases without the sanction 
of the heads of their several communities, to whom 
application is first made, and who sit in judgment 
on every affair that concerns the body over which 
they preside. The Hebrews existing in Egypt as 
a distinct caste, had, according to Eastern usages, 
rulers and princes of their own, possessed of ac- 
knowledged power, to settle causes and differences ; 
and it was for usurping an authority which did not 
belong to him, and which was the prerogative of 
those only who, by the common consent of the 
Hebrew community, were the rulers and princes 
of their tribes, that the peaceful mediation of Moses 
* Pinker ton. 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 117 

was rejected by his infuriated countryman, and he 
was upbraided with the additional charge of having 
murdered an Egyptian. This language of de- 
fiance was no douk dictated by the excited feelings 
of the speaker, and, like the usual ebullitions of 
anger, was deserving of little regard ; but as it con- 
veyed the unexpected intelligence that Moses' con- 
nexion with the violent death of the Egyptian was 
no longer a secret, he deemed it necessary, in order 
to avoid the vengeance of the Goel,* to leave the 
country without delay, and found a secure retreat 
in the remote valley of Midian, where he entered 
the service, and contracted a matrimonial alliance, 
probably by his services, like Jacob, with the family 
of a pastoral chief of great power and opulence in 
that place. 

After a long interval,f the transactions of which 

* The ancient law of Egypt enacted, that " if any 
man saw another violently assaulted on the highway, 
and did not step forward in his defence, that man 
should be punished with death." The action of Moses, 
then, who rescued the Hebrew from the hands of his 
furious adversary, though stained with the blood of the 
Egyptian, was quite according to the law of the land, 
and was the deed of a brave and benevolent man. But, 
in the then feelings of the Egyptian government, the 
life of an Israelite would have been little thought of, 
and Moses had reason to fear that he would not obtain 
justice. 

f The only characteristic circumstance that occur- 
red during the residence of Moses in Midian, and that 
requires notice, was the command to pull off his shoes, 
when he approached the spot where the mysterious 
vision of the Deity was displayed. There was no way 
in which a native of the East could have been more im- 
pressed with an idea of the sanctity of the place, than 
by such an order. To this day, the orientals testify 
their respect for particular places in the same manner. 
No one will presume to enter a temple or sacred place, 
or even the house of a superior, without leaving his 
sandals at the door. 



118 EASTERN MANNERS. 

it does not fall within the design of this work to 
detail, Moses returned to Egypt on an important 
mission to the king; and with Aaron, who was as- 
sociated with him as colleague in the embassy, ob- 
tained an audience of Pharaoh, which he had a 
right to demand as the acknowledged head of the 
Hebrew society, in the same manner as the chiefs 
of the different castes and professions in the East, 
still enjoy the privilege of being recognized by, and 
holding communion with, the government. The 
frequent and almost daily access he was allowed to 
the King of Egypt, may be easily accounted for, 
by supposing that Pharaoh, like other Eastern mo- 
narchs, was in the habit of repairing every morning 
to the gate of his city, and there holding a public 
council, before which all were expected to appear 
who had causes to settle, grievances to redress, or 
suits to prefer. Besides this, the Egyptians had 
another opportunity of holding consultation with 
their monarch, in the daily procession he made 
with his principal friends and counsellors to the 
river, for the purpose of bathing. However un- 
welcome the presence of the Hebrew chiefs might 
have been to the court, they were, according to the 
established usages of their country, allowed the ear 
of the king, on the stated periods for the transaction 
of public business; and, on no occasion, were any 
obstacles thrown in the way of their privilege to 
negotiate with him, except once, when the urgency 
of their demands having provoked the royal dis- 
pleasure, they were forcibly driven from the pre- 
sence of Pharaoh — a proceeding, the nature of 
which may be learned from the customs of India and 
other parts of the East, where it is still the usual way 
of getting rid of troublesome and importunate solici- 
tations. There, whenever a person of authority and 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 119^ 

influence feels annoyed by the persevering applica- 
tion of an individual, whose suit he is unwilling to 
grant, he makes a signal to his attendants, who rush 
forward, and, seizing the unfortunate suppliant by 
the neck, drag him out of the chamber with the 
most indecent and violent haste. To be forcibly 
expelled from the presence of a man of rank in this 
manner, is one of the greatest indignities to which 
an individual can be subjected, and is never resorted 
to but in circumstances of the utmost provocation. 

The private and peaceful conferences of the am- 
bassadors with Pharaoh, having proved ineffectual 
in procuring his consent to the departure of the 
Israelites, the Lord authorized them to change their 
mode of procedure, and to adopt a series of mea- 
sures, unexampled for their severity; but the 
grounds of which cannot be well understood with- 
out a knowledge of the character and state of an- 
cient Egypt. Nowhere throughout the ancient 
world did idolatrous worship prevail to such an 
extent as among the Egyptians ; who, not content, 
like many of the surrounding nations, with the 
veneration of the heavenly bodies, and with deify- 
ing those of their countrymen who had rendered 
themselves famous for wisdom, valour, or patriot- 
ism extended, by a strange infatuation, their super- 
stitious reverence to the very lowest animals, par- 
ticularly the crocodile, and the ibis, the dog, the 
sheep, and the cat. 

Whatever was the origin of this monstrous spe- 
cies of worship, it is certain that it was prevalent 
among that people at a very early period ; and so 
far did they carry their blind regard for these crea- 
tures, that they worshipped them not only while 
they were alive, but even after their death. On 
those bestial gods the most extravagant honours 



120 EASTERN MANNERS. 

were heaped ; lands were consecrated to tneir use 
priests appointed for the celebration of their appro 
priate rites ; and a numerous train of menials, ol 
all sorts and sexes, were maintained, for the pur* 
pose of feeding and waiting on them. The high- 
est personages in the kingdom considered the office 
of priests to these consecrated creatures worthy of 
their ambition ; and in such estimation were all 
held, who were connected with their services, that 
the populace bowed the knee to them whenever 
they appeared on the streets and highways, as pos- 
sessed of extraordinary sanctity. Nay, to such a 
length did they carry their superstitious regard, 
that a standing law existed in Egypt, denouncing 
instant death on any individual who was convicted 
of having occasioned the destruction of one of these 
animals, even though it were by accident ; of which 
a remarkable instance occurred in the case of a Ro- 
man, who, having the misfortune to kill a cat, the 
enraged populace rushed to the house where he 
lodged, and, prevented neither by the urgent en- 
treaties of their magistrates, nor the dread of Ro- 
man vengeance, dragged him from his place of re- 
fuge, and tore him to pieces without mercy. Per- 
haps a still more remarkable proof of the wonderful 
veneration in which the ancient Egyptians held these 
creatures, is afforded by the circumstance, that at a 
period when a grievous famine was raging in the 
land, which reduced the people to the utmost ex- 
tremities, not one ever ventured to taste one of 
these consecrated animals.* So much for their 
superstitious notions in regard to the more com- 
mon species of birds and domestic animals, which, 
however absurd, is infinitely less astonishing than 

♦Ancient Universal History. 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 121 

♦hat which they paid to the monsters of the Nile. 
The attentions which they lavished upon the croco- 
dile are almost incredible, for besides having tem- 
ples reared in honour of them, places consecrated 
for their abode and amusement, and persons of the 
highest rank to attend them, one, in particular, of 
those repulsive creatures, was domesticated, adorn- 
ed with all sorts of jewels, supplied with the luxury 
of a bath erected for its solitary use, anointed with 
the most fragrant perfumes, a carpet spread on the 
ground where the monster crawled, and, at its 
death, its carcass was embalmed with the most 
elaborate art of Egypt, and deposited in a tomb, 
amid the long and loud wailings of its disconsolate 
worshippers. Such extravagant ideas in regard to 
the inferior orders of animated nature, indicate a 
grossness of mind, a power of superstition, which 
no mild measure, no ordinary methods of persua- 
sion, could have been able to combat ; and they 
prove, that, severe as were the plagues that were 
successively brought on the infatuated king and 
people of Egypt, they were not more severe than 
the nature of the case required. A people so low 
in the scale of moral perception, would look with 
infinite contempt on the Hebrew race, who having 
no temples nor images of the Being they adored, 
would be regarded as without the protection of any 
tutelary deity whatever. And thus, secure in the 
conscious pride of having so many different divini- 
ties, to some of whom they could appeal in all cir- 
cumstances, they boldly defied Moses and Aaron 
to enter the lists with them. How astonished and 
appalled must they have been, when they beheld 
all the creatures in the land and the river, which 
they had been accustomed to regard as symbols of 
the deity, lying in loathsome putrefaction ! And 
11 



122 EASTERN MANNERS. 

what a terrible idea must this have given them of 
the power of the God of Israel, who by the won- 
der-working rod* of his servants, not only brought 
the greatest afflictions on the land, by sending pro- 
digious swarms of the deified animals, who overran 
and consumed it, but evinced his superiority to 
every other god, by /aiming a deadly blow at the 
first-born of every kind ! 

The plagues brought upon the Egyptians were 
suited to bear upon their favourite customs and 
opinions, as the following brief observations on 
them will show. The first plague (Exodus vii. 19) 
was the conversion of the water of the Nile into 
blood. It is scarcely possible to convey to a 
European an impression of the extraordinary value 
the people of Egypt set upon this river, which they 
regarded as the grand source of their national pros- 
perity ; whose delicious waters they preferred to 
the luxuries of the richest wines ; to regale them- 
selves with which, the daughters of Ptolemy, when 
married to foreign princes, are said to have kept 
porters constantly employed in bringing it to their 
palaces, and which the wanderer in other climes 
sighed for, more than all the pleasures of home. 
Some idea of th/. admiration in which the waters of 
the Nile were anciently held, may be formed from 
what we know is still the feeling of the people of 

* God commands his servants to use a rod in con- 
formity with the notions of Eastern people, who have 
always considered a rod an emblem of authority. The 
Hindoo priests and magi, like their ancient predeces- 
sors of Egypt, use a rod, which is thought to possess 
great power over inanimate nature and human dis- 
eases. It is about the size of the middle finger, and 
has only one knot in its whole length. The rod of 
Moses was in all likelihood of the same nature, and 
for the same purpose. — Roberts. 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 123 

modern Egypt towards their national river. " If," 
says Dr. Richardson " I were to live five hundred 
years, I shall never forget the eagerness with which 
the crew let down and pulled up the pitcher, and 
swigged off its contents, whistling and smacking 
their fingers, and calling out "good, good," as if 
bidding defiance to the whole world to produce such 
another draught." How great, then, must have 
been the disappointment and disgust of the people 
throughout the land, when, at the time of drawing 
water, they found, instead of their favourite bever- 
age, a nauseous and unwholesome draught; and 
still greater must have been their disappointment 
and disgust, when they saw it was blood, of whieh 
they had an abhorrence ; and which would prevent 
them from either touching the putrid carcasses of 
the fish, which was their chief article of food, or 
bathing in the river, which their habits rendered 
scarcely less essential to their existence than food.* 
The second plague was that of the frogs, Exodus 
viii. 2, which, though objects familiar to the peo- 
ple, were on this occcasion miraculously multiplied 
to an amazing extent. Of this species of annoy- 
ance, we may form some idea from the usual effects 
of an Eastern monsoon or wet season, when these 
disgusting reptiles, issuing from their marshes, 
make their way into the houses in myriads, leap 
about the rooms, and stun with their noise in every 
place. One evening, in such a season, Mr. Roberts 
killed upwards of forty which had crept into the 
chamber he occupied. What must have been the 

* In some cases, the fish of the river, as well as the 
river itself, were worshipped ; for a city was built in 
honour of a particular species, called Uxurunchus, and 
a temple dedicated to its worship. — Strabo, b. i. 17. 



124 EASTERN MANNERS. 

state of the Egyptians, whose characteristic love of 
quiet would be severely tried by the perpetual 
croak of the prodigious swarms that appeared on 
this occasion ; and who could find no means of 
escape from their cold damp touch, and unsightly 
presence, as they alighted on every article and ves- 
sel of food ; and polluted equally the homely mats 
of the poor, that were strewed upon the floor, and 
the more elevated and sumptuous divans of the 
great. The third plague was that of lice, Exodus 
viii. 16, the severity of which consisted in this, that 
the Egyptians were so great lovers of cleanliness, 
and were so afraid of harbouring any vermin about 
them, which they considered would be a profana- 
tion of their temples, and an insult to their gods, 
whom they worshipped several times a day, that 
they shaved their entire persons at short intervals, 
washed in the river on the least contact with any 
species of defilement, and put on fresh linen gar- 
ments, which was their usual dress, every time 
they repaired to their places of devotion. Debarred 
as they consequently were from their usual reli- 
gious observances, by the impure state of their 
bodies, even the magicians were forced to acknow- 
ledge that this visitation had come from God. The 
fourth plague was that of the flies, Exodus viii. 21, 
which in that country were very formidable for 
their size and sting, and swarmed in such prodigious 
numbers at the annual overflow of the Nile, that 
the people were compelled at that season to confine 
themselves to the tops of their houses, to avoid the 
flies as well as the inundation, and to seek protec- 
tion from these tiny enemies, by covering them- 
selves with a piece of net-work. In consequence 
of their appearance being contemporaneous with 
the rise of the river, they were considered sacred 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 125 

to the deity ; and it is remarkable, that it was when 
Pharaoh and his courtiers were taking their morn- 
ing promenade to adore and bathe in the stream, 
that the plague of flies was inflicted ; the terror of 
which would be great, from the unprecedented 
myriads that buzzed in the troubled air ; but greater 
still, from the circumstance that the season of the 
year must have convinced the people that it could 
be no natural occurrence.* The fifth plague was 
the murrain of beasts ; Exod. ix. 1 ; the propriety 
of which arose from the habits of the Egyptians, 
who held in the greatest veneration the more useful 
animals, ssch as the ox, the cow, and the sheep; 
and in all parts of the country had temples reared, 
and divine honours paid to these domesticated 
beasts. The sixth plague was that of the boils 
upon the bodies both of man and beast. Exod. ix. 
8. They were produced by the servants of God 
taking handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and sprink- 
ling them towards heaven. With the magicians 
of India, at the present day, it is still a hereditary 
custom to take ashes from a fire, and throwing them 
into the air, pronounce an imprecation on any peo- 
ple against whom their indignation is directed, men- 
tioning at the same time the disease, or curse, of 
which they wish them to become the victims. 

* Bruce remarks, that these formidable flies of 
Egypt are found only in the black loamy soil of the 
valleys which are overrun with the Nile, while the 
sand or pasture lands are entirely free from them ; and 
it is deserving of notice, that the Lord at this plague 
made a division between his people and the Egyptians. 
Colonel Sykes and Mr. Wilkinson are of opinion, from 
the flies which so severely attack man and beast in 
Egypt and India, that the agent employed in the fourth 
plague, was a species of insect resembling the English 
gad-fly. 

11* 



126 EASTERN MANNERS. 

This practice they have no doubt received from 
their predecessors in Egypt, who, while they fol- 
lowed it as a general custom, were in the habit of 
making a particular application of it in the case of 
persons of red hair, such being seldom found among 
the natives; one of which description was sought 
out, and sacrified at certain seasons, their ashes 
being scattered about to draw down the blessing of 
heaven on the land. Perhaps many of the Israel- 
ites had fallen victims to this cruel superstition; 
and it was therefore a just retribution, that the ashes 
which were scattered about by Moses, should be 
followed, not by a blessing, but a curse, on the per- 
sons and property of this impious people. The 
seventh plague was that of the hail, Exod. ix. 22, 
a phenomenon which must have produced the 
greatest astonishment and consternation in Egypt, 
as rain and hail-stones are very rare occurrences 
in that country. Some idea may be formed of the 
destruction caused by it to the cattle and vegetable 
productions of Egypt, from the description given 
of the common hail-storms in the East, in which 
the stones, often as large as walnuts, are sufficient 
to occasion the death of any one on whom they 
may fall. One that happened during the British 
expedition in Egypt, continued two days and nights, 
and poured a torrent of morsels of ice, of about two 
feet deep, with such violence, from the mountains, 
that it swept all before it, rendering the soldiers 
unable to face it, and terrifying the horses so, that 
they broke loose and occasioned indescribable con- 
fusion.* The reason of such a plague being brought 

* Mr. Campbell describes another in Africa, in 
which the hail-stones were so large and heavy, as even 
to kill the ostrich. A grove of mimosa was entirely 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 127 

on Egypt, attended wtth a portentous storm of thun- 
der and lightning, is to be sought for in the cus- 
tomary adoration of the people of that country paid 
to the elements of air, earth, and water. The 
eighth plague was that of locusts, Exod. x. 12, the 
destructive ravages of which are well known in the 
East. Perhaps there has not a more terrible scourge 
ever been brought on mankind than those insects, 
which fly in such countless numbers as to darken 
the land which they infest, and to convert whatever 
place they alight on, into a waste and barren de- 
sert; stripping the ground of its verdure, the trees 
of their leaves and bark, and producing in a few 
hours a degree of desolation which it requires the 
lapse of years to repair. The inhabitatns of Egypt, 
as well as the people of many other Eastern coun- 
tries, tremble when they perceive their approach, 
and endeavour to drtve them off, by making all 
manner of terrific sounds, or by setting fire to the 
fields, that the smoke may kill them ; and yet, not- 
withstanding every precaution, they have, as the 
history of many countries in the East attests, occa- 
sioned the most terrible disasters, both through the 
famine that invariably follows their appearance, 
and the fatal exhalations that arise from their car- 
casses. If such be the tremendous effects of ordi- 
nary flocks of these insects, what must have been 
the state of Egypt of old when an east wind was 
commissioned to bring an army of them from Ara- 
bia, their birth-place, "so great and grievous, that 
before them there were no such locusts as they, 
neither after them shall be such !" 

stripped of the bark, many of the branches broken off, 
and strewed on the ground, and the grass arouud was 
completely beaten down ; all of which desolation had 
been the effect of a single shower. 



128 EASTERN MANNERS. 

Such were some of the plagues brought by hea- 
ven on idolatrous Egypt, which wrung a reluctant 
consent from the perverse monarch to the departure 
of the Hebrews. The only characteristic circum- 
stance that marks their farewell of the Egyptians, 
was their borrowing " every man of his neighbour, 
and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver 
and jewels of gold." This was done in consequence 
of a command of God, who, as a righteous judge 
and friend of his people, intended by that measure 
to repay the destitute Hebrews the just dues of 
which they had been so long and so fraudulently 
deprived by their oppressor. Nor was there any 
thing in this act either unjust, or calculated to sur- 
prise the Egyptians, as it has always been, and 
still is a practice with the people of the East, to re- 
pair to their sacred solemnities, arrayed with the 
best and most valuable ornaments. To appear in 
any other than their finest gems, when they go to 
their temples, is considered the greatest indignity 
offered to the objects of their worship; and even 
the lowest of the people, whose habits and condi- 
tion are otherwise poor and indifferent, show them- 
selves on such occasions in jewels borrowed for the 
purpose. The Egyptians were told, and the He- 
brews themselves believed it, that the latter were 
going only a few days' march into the wilderness 
to hold a festival in honour of their God, which 
they could not celebrate with freedom in the midst 
of people wholly given to idolatry ; and therefore, 
it was most natural, according to the universal no- 
tion of the East, that the worshippers, who were 
poor and destitute slaves, should borrow of their 
richer neighbours the ornaments necessary for their 
acceptable participation in the sacred festival they 
had in view. 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 129 

They had not proceeded far, however, on theii 
journey, when the king, either through caprice, or 
suspicion of their intentions to revolt from his ser- 
vice, hastily levied a powerful army, and march- 
ing in pursuit of them, overtook them at the bor- 
ders of the Red Sea, in which, while the Israelites 
were miraculously preserved, the Egyptian prince 
perished, together with all his forces. Exodus xiv. 
The passage through the divided waters, was an 
event so memorable, that it was to have been ex- 
pected that traditions of that singular occurrence 
would be met with many ages after. So many 
parties, indeed, were concerned with, or witnesses 
of it, that it was impossible the memory of it, even 
though it had not been perpetuated in sacred his- 
tory, could ever have been lost. The Israelites 
themselves would preserve the remembrance of an 
achievement which gratified their national pride 
with so signal a display of the favour of heaven ; 
the Egyptians had no less reason for perpetuating 
the memory of a transaction, which at once de- 
prived them of their king, the flower of their no- 
bility, and the whole military establishment of 
their kingdom; and the barbarous people who 
lived on the borders of the Red Sea, and witnessed 
the miracle, would transmit from age to age the 
wonderous tale. The natural phenomena that 
have been constantly before the eyes of the peo- 
ple, who frequent the borders of that inland sea, 
have helped to keep this extraordinary miracle 
from sharing the usual fate of transactions hid in 
the depths of a remote antiquity, and conveyed to 
posterity through the uncertain channel of tradi- 
tion : and while the gentle current and clear waters 
of the Nile give now no indications that it was 
once dyed with the portentous colour of blood, and 



130 EASTERN MANNERS. 

the serene summit of Sinai retains no memorial to 
remind the beholder of its being once the awful 
scene of the Deity's descent, the incessant and ex- 
traordinary agitation of one part of the Red Sea has 
ever been regarded by the people of the East, as 
connected with that event which displayed the ven- 
geance of the Almighty on his enemies. What- 
ever may be thought of the locality fixed upon as 
the scene of Pharaoh's overthrow, (and from the 
appearances on the coast, of the sea having some- 
what changed its bed, it is impossible the situation 
can now be accurately determined;) yet the fact 
itself is impressed beyond all doubt on the minds of 
the sailors that navigate that sea, a race proverbially 
prone to superstition, and faithful chroniclers of all 
strange and portentous events; and, transmitted as 
it has been from one generation of seafaring people 
to another, it is probably as uncorrupted a tradition 
as exists in the world, of a transaction so remote. 
A very interesting account of the ideas entertained 
by Eastern sailors, in regard to the supposed scene 
of the catastrophe of the Egyptians, and the dread 
they have in passing it, is given in the memoirs of 
an Italian adventurer, formerly mentioned as at- 
tached to the service of Mohammed Ali. At the 
time referred to, the Egyptian army was coasting 
along the Red Sea, not far from the little town of 
Suez. They had got under way with a fine breeze, 
but this did not befriend them long, for they soon 
reached a point, remarkable for the furious gusts 
to which it is almost perpetually subject. The 
superstition of the people has ascribed it to a super- 
natural, and not to a physical cause; for they 
imagine that, as it was here that the host of Pha- 
raoh was swallowed up, their restless spirits re- 
main at the bottom of the deep, and are continually 



EGYPTIAN LIFE. 131 

busied in drawing down mariners to their destruc- 
tion; a notion so universal and so deeply rooted in 
the minds of all the seafaring people, that it would 
be vain to combat it. The traveller had an oppor- 
tunity of witnessing the effects of this superstition ; 
for, just as the ship in which he sailed, came abreast 
of the head land in question, the bay of Tor, a most 
violent blast of wind seemed to rush down, as if it 
would upset the vessel ; on which the crew all be- 
took themselves to prayer. There was no abate- 
ment of the danger till they had passed the limits 
usually exposed to this singular and awful phe- 
nomenon, which is, there can be doubt, to be ac- 
counted for by some natural peculiarities of the 
place. The whole navigation of this part of the 
Red Sea is exceedingly difficult and dangerous: 
reefs and shoals abound in all directions ; and the 
utmost circumspection is necessary to avoid them ; 
for they occasion such a constant and violent agita- 
tion of the waters, that the sailors, unable to ac- 
count for it otherwise, believe it is produced by the 
spirits of the drowned, still moving at the bottom 
of the sea ; and as more ships have been wrecked 
in the bay of Birket Faroun, than on any other 
part of the Red Sea, this is a confirmation, in the 
eyes of the Arabs, of the opinion that disembodied 
demons dwell below. " If the violent agitation of 
the bay," says Burckhardt, " proceed, as of course 
it must, from natural causes, and not from the mys- 
terious agent that superstition has assigned, it is 
probable that the place was as much liable to such 
a tempestuous motion in the days of Pharaoh as it 
is now ; and it will give us a higher idea of the de- 
liverance granted to the Israelites, and of the mighty 
power that achieved it, when we reflect that they 
passed over in perfect security, and without so 



132 EASTERN MANNERS. 

much as wetting their feet, through a part of the 
sea that has always been the scene of the most 
furious and ungovernable tempests."* 



CHAPTER IV. 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 

Eastern song and dance — mode of travelling through the desert— 
scarcity and bad qualities of water — honey in rocks — serpents and 
scorpions — laws concerning restoration of garments at night — con- 
cerning diet — leprosy — eating salt with sacrifice — Goelism — waters 
of jealousy— cutting of flesh and hair — seething kid — paying for 
water in passing through a country— cursing an enemy — horneta 
diiving out the Canaanites. 

Impressed with the wonderful scene of their safe 
passage through the Red Sea, and grateful for the 
signal overthrow of their enemies, the first care of 
the pious leader of the Israelites, was to compose a 
song of thanksgiving to their Almighty Protector, 
which, in order to perpetuate the memory of this 
great deliverance, he ordered to be chaunted by 

* In the narrative of this wonderful passage, mention 
is frequently made of horsemen, and in the ode sung on 
the occasion, the expression, " the horse and his rider," 
is twice used. These terms, however, must be con- 
sidered as used only in contradistinction to other war- 
riors on foot, as it is certain that the use of cavalry, 
was not not known to the ancient Egyptians. Their 
horses, like those described in the Homeric battles, 
were attached to cars, in which were mounted two 
men, of whom one managed the horses, while the other 
fought. — Transactions of the Antiquarian Society ^Lon- 
don. 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 133 

the whole multitude. To secure the important and 
pious purpose of Moses in the composition of it, it 
was necessary that all the congregated Hebrews, 
both old and young, should raise their united voices 
in the recital of the grateful strains. Some peculiar 
method must therefore have been adopted, to enable 
that rude and uneducated horde to join in the uni- 
versal chorus of praise: and what that method 
was, is intimated by the language of the historian, 
who says that Miriam, the sister of Moses, took 
the lead, and all the women followed her with tim- 
brels and with dances, and Miriam answered them 
in the words of the song. Exodus xv. 20. Accord- 
ing to the modern customs of the East, the dance, 
which is generally accompanied with singing, is 
still led by the principal lady of the company, the 
rest imitating her movements, and repeating the 
words of the song as they drop from her lips. She 
moves according to no regular measure, and chaunts 
often the extemporaneous effusions of the moment ; 
but let her vary her steps and cadences as much as 
she pleases, her group of gay nnd lively followers 
imitate with wonderful address, every variation of 
either her feet or her tones. Nor is this the custom 
only on occasions of festivity, for in many parts of 
the East, dancing, as well as singing, forms still a 
part of their sacred observances, and there is al- 
ways one principal person who takes the lead in 
both. The missionary Wolffmentions a congrega- 
tion of Jews in Palestine, who responded in this 
manner to an interesting hymn which was sung by 
their priest. And another traveller describes a fes- 
tival of some Eastern Christians, where one emi- 
nent individual who was the leading singer, as well 
as the leading dancer, conducted through the streets 
of the city a large band of people, who sung and 
12 



134 EASTERN MANNERS. 

leaped, in imitation of the tones and gesticulations 
used by him. Sometimes, however, the songs 
which are composed in memory of some particular 
event, are not recited throughout on every occasion, 
but merely the first word or sentence is repeated 
for hours together ; a practice which seems to have 
been followed by the children of Israel also, in the 
frequent recital of their triumphal ode, as is inti- 
mated in the sacred story, where it is said, " Mi- 
riam answered, or called to the women ; Sing ye to 
the Lord ; for he hath triumphed gloriously ; the 
horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea." 

After this tribute to their Almighty guardian, and 
necessary refreshment from the fatigues of their 
hasty march, the Israelites commenced their jour- 
ney into that wild and interminable desert, where 
they were doomed to wander for forty years. A 
multitude amounting to upwards of 600,000 foot- 
men, besides children and cattle, and all the neces- 
sary furniture, must have required the most careful 
arrangement, and the appointment of numerous lead- 
ers to take charge of the several companies, to keep 
every individual in his allotted place, and to provide 
for all contingencies both during the night, and at 
the halting-places. As travelling on distant expe- 
ditions in the East, especially over the deserts, is 
always performed in large bodies or caravans, the ar- 
rangements of which are still much the same as those 
that were made in the patriarchal age, a description 
of their leading features will help to throw light on 
the disposition of the Israelites in their wanderings 
in the wilderness. When the travellers are all as- 
sembled, and the period for the march arrives, the 
caravan is divided into several companies; to dis- 
tinguish which, as they sometimes consist of more 
than a thousand persons, a name and a banner are 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 135 

given to each ; and, although it is in every one's 
power, at first, to choose the company to which he 
shall attach himself, in doing which he is, of course, 
swayed by a regard to his friends and family, yet, 
when once he has made the selection, it is not in 
his power to change during the whole of the. jour- 
ney. These companies travel, one after another, 
like detachments of troops ; the individuals com- 
posing it ranged four, and sometimes five abreast ; 
and over every company is placed an officer, whose 
business it is to protect the persons committed to 
his care, and to prevent wanderers from other divis- 
ions mingling with them. Besides these subordi- 
nate officers, there are four head-men, who divide 
between them the most important cares of the gene- 
ral body ; these are the chief of the caravan, the 
master of the march, the master of the halt, and the 
master of the company that comprises the servants 
and cattle, which, with the exception of the camels 
that may be used as beasts o^ burden for their mas- 
ters, always form a separate division by themselves. 
They renew their journeys every day before dawn, 
and often, to avoid the intolerable heat of the sun 
by day, prosecute their march in the night, being 
guided by lights which are borne on the tops of 
long poles. Besides these, there is generally 
another company, which do not, however, keep to 
any particular division, but are dispersed in dif- 
ferent parts among the travellers; these are the 
escort, which have no other duty to attend to but to 
keep themselves in readiness to ward off any attack 
which may be made by the bands of marauding 
Arabs that infest the desert. Every caravan pro- 
vides at its setting out, the attendance of a hybeer 
or guide, whose services are indispensable in a 
journey over a trackless country j and, as he is en- 



136 EASTERN MANNERS. 

trusted with the lives and property of thousands, he 
requires, in an eminent degree, the qualifications 
of fidelity, steadiness, and, above all, a thorough 
acquaintance with the peculiarities of the climate 
and the country, with the situation of the wells, 
the different properties of the water, the spots that 
promise shade for the men and verdure for the cat- 
tle, the pacific or hostile character of the inter- 
mediate tribes, with the places most liable to the 
shifting of the sands, the periods when the fatal 
simoom, or wind of the desert may be dreaded, 
and, in short, with every thing that can ensure the 
safety and comfort of the multitude he engages to 
conduct. The individual who performs this im- 
portant office to a numerous caravan, is generally 
the chief of some Arab tribe, the assistance of 
which he can command in cases of difficulty or 
danger. Might it not have been this character 
that Moses entreated his father-in-law to assume, 
when that pastoral prince paid a visit to the camp 
of the Israelites, on the eve of their plunging into 
the depths of the great Arabian deserts — the bene- 
fit of his presence and experience to the Israelites, 
in those wild and unknown recesses, being repre- 
sented under the striking similitude of " being eyes 
to them." No doubt God was their leader by the 
pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night ; the 
movement and the stoppage of which regulated 
their marches, and determined their places of en- 
campment. But, they were left in some measure 
to their own resources and experience, to discover 
the track where herbage could be obtained for their 
cattle, where noxious reptiles abounded, where wells 
and groves afforded their grateful refreshments ; and 
it was therefore a proof of the wisdom and sense 
of the Hebrew commander, to make every effort to 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 137 

secure the valuable services of a chief, whose con 
nexion with himself, whose personal influence, and 
whose long experience, pointed him out as the 
most eligible guide. 

In order to form an idea of the mode of life of 
the Israelites, during their protracted stay in the 
desert, it is necessary to draw in one's mind a 
picture of the wild inanimate scenery of the place, 
together with the dangers arising from the total ab- 
sence of every thing that contributes to the support 
and refreshment of human life. 

It was a life spent in continual journeyings, but 
seldom enlivened by the enjoyment which the va- 
rieties of a vagrant condition inspire ; for in the 
lonely valleys of Paran, which they entered on 
leaving the Red Sea, and, especially in the depths 
of that immense wilderness which they afterwards 
penetrated, the beauty and softness of creation are 
gone. The few shrubs and spots of verdure that 
.^re strewed along the borders of the desert, and 
separated by wide intervals, appear as the outworks 
of animated nature, beyond which she has arrayed 
herself in the gloomy, awful, unchangeable attri- 
butes of savage majesty. Those who have dared 
to explore the secrets of the Great Desert, describe 
it as the very seat of desolation, stretching far and 
wide into boundless fields of white sand, relieved 
by scarcely any traces of vegetation, and broken in 
some parts by hideous chasms and overhanging 
precipices of gigantic magnitude, and in others by 
fragments of rocks scattered in wild confusion; so 
that they seemed to be at every step in the jaws of 
destruction. Oppressive beyond measure is the 
toil of travelling across this desolate region, where 
the feet, but slightly protected by the slender san- 
dal, are crippled by the sand and the gravel; the 
12* 



138 EASTERN MANNERS. 

animal spirits flag; the eye has not one cheering 
object to rest upon; the arms hang motionless at 
the sides, from the want of power and inclination 
to stir them ; and the whole man is weighed down 
with fatigue and languor, which is rendered almost 
insupportable, from the painful conviction that one 
may here be continually moving, without ever 
making any advance. For not only is there not a 
track to be found, since the soft sand and the stony 
ground retain no impressions even of the heavy 
foot of a camel ; but, in consequence of the craggy 
and convulsed character of the place, the way is 
often to be sought over steep hills, up which there 
is no ascent but by narrow and almost perpendicu- 
lar paths, or by wandering through defiles so cir- 
cuitous that the few Arabs that pass them, keep 
them in remembrance only by the heaps of stones 
they raise at every turn.* Figure an immense 
multitude, embarrassed with cattle and the neces- 
sary materials of their tents, traversing from day 
to day those dreary and difficult paths, though to- 
tally unaccustomed to the habits of a wandering 
life; some of them borne down by age and infirmi- 
ty; others, whose tender years unfitted them for 
travel ; now plodding their weary way over plains 
of yielding sand, now climbing the steep precipice, 
or jolted on the uneasy back of the camel ; swel- 
tering by day under the scorching influence of the 
sun, and lying by night, most of them, on the bare 
ground, with only a rude booth of branches to 
shelter them, and with no fuel to keep out the 

* We may perceive, from this description, how ne- 
cessary the cloud was to the Israelites, not only to tem- 
per by its friendly shade, the burning heat of the sua 
and the sand, but as an unerring guide to enable them 
to thread such a labyrinth of rocks and pits. 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 139 

piercing cold, or to cook their victuals, but the 
few stunted shrubs they could pick up, or what is 
the common and only substitute, the sun-dried or- 
dure of their cattle ; and you may form some notion 
of the state of the Israelites in that wild and lonely 
desert, where, for so many years, Providence de- 
tained them for the wisest and most important pur- 
poses. 

The cheerless nature of such a situation is greatly 
increased by the privations that attend it. Water, 
so necessary in all situations, is there an invaluable 
article of life; and hence, among the first prepara- 
tions for a journey into the desert, travellers pro- 
vide themselves with as many skins of the precious 
fluid as they can carry; which, however, from the 
frequent applications they are obliged to make to 
them, as well as from the absorbing heat of the sun, 
bncome speedily exhausted, while the replenishing 
them with a fresh supply depends on contingencies 
that agitate the heart of the unfortunate wanderers, 
but to which our temperate region makes us total 
straugers. For as no rivers there distribute their . 
treasures, and rain does not fall for months or years 
together, the parched ground can afford no watering 
places, except a few springs, or wells which are 
dug as reservoirs for the rain; but which the tra- 
veller, to his mortification, often finds entirely dry. 
What is still more tantalizing, the draught which 
he eagerly raises to his lips may taste as bitter and 
salt as the waters of the sea, a quality which arises 
from the soil through which it passes before reach- 
ing the spring, being strongly impregnated with 
salt or saltpetre, as the greater part of the desert 
through which the Israelites wandered, is.* One 

* Exod. xv. 23. All travellers speak with rapture 
of the delightful sensation they experienced, after 



140 EASTERN MANNERS. 

such disappointment is particularly recorded in their 
history, from its being the first, and perhaps, from 
the experience they were then furnished with, ena- 
bling them to correct such impurities of the water 
ever after. After travelling three days, the stock 
of water they had laid in at their outset was ex- 
hausted. The sufferings from the want of it be- 
came severe and general, but at length, after a long 
and painful march, the welcome cry of water was 
raised; and all, both men and beasts, rushed for- 
ward to quench their intolerable thirst, when a fresh 
disappointment arose, the water of the spring being 
found altogether unfit for drinking. The discon- 
tent was great in proportion to the excess of their 
previous joy ; and Moses, in his extremity, apply- 
ing to God, was directed to a tree which, growing 
in the neighbourhood of a fountain, possessed the 
invaluable property of purifying its waters. By 
many this tree is thought to be the JElvah of the 
Arabs; a shrub which, in form and flower, is not 
unlike the hawthorn, and which that people still use 
for the same purpose. But whether the twig that 
Moses cast into the waters of Marah was cut from 
this tree or not, it is important to observe, that such 
arts are common to the natives of the desert, and 
indeed of all warm countries, who, forced by ne- 
cessity, make themselves acquainted with many 
plants and shrubs which have the property of puri- 
fying the water. Thus the people of Egypt, by 
rubbing a composition of almonds on the sides of 

being long used to the dreary monotonous desert, to 
meet with wood and water. And that the Israelites 
partook of the same pleasurable feelings, is evident 
from their recording the number of trees and wells 
they found. At Elim, for instance, there is stated to 
have been three-score and ten palm trees, and twelve 
wells of water. 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 141 

the jars in which they keep the muddy waters of 
the Nile, give it the sweetness, salubrity, and clear- 
ness for which it is so celebrated. Some Eastern 
people purify their water by passing it through a 
paste of white earth. Some of the first settlers in 
America attained the same object by shoots of sas- 
safras; and the Chinese are said to have been first 
led to the general use of the tea plant, by the suc- 
cess with which they applied it in similar experi- 
ments. The tree, then, by which Moses corrected 
the brackish qualities of Marah might have been 
common, and well known to possess that precious 
property; but he and his people required the direc- 
tion of heaven to instruct them in applying it as a 
means of removing the badness of water, as their 
inexperience of the place, and of that sort of life to 
which they were called, had given them no oppor- 
tunity of acquiring a knowledge of it. 

The want of food, though that is an article much 
more easily dispensed with in such regions than 
water, was another privation which the Israelites 
experienced; and accordingly, we find that their 
murmurs for something to alleviate the pangs of 
hunger, were not heard for a long time after they 
had begun to feel the pressure of thirst. The store 
they took with them consisted, like that of the cara- 
vans which traverse the desert still, of parched 
corn, which they prepare in various ways, though 
principally in the form of cakes, hastily baked on 
the embers. And we need not wonder that it lasted 
them for several weeks, after their departure from 
Egypt, since modern travellers in the same quarter 
are in the habit of lading their camels with as much 
as is sufficient both for men and beasts during forty 
days. The renewal of this kind of provisions it is 
vain to expect in the barren regions of the desert j 



142 EASTERN MANNERS. 

nor, with the exception of a few partridges, wild 
deer, and antelopes,* which sometimes come within 
reach of the traveller, is it possible to meet with 
any living creature fit for the food of man. Two 
natural productions of the desert, however, they 
did find, to afford them a temporary sustenance; 
the one the juice of some wild olives, which often 
grow in stony places, where no other fruits of the 
earth could be raised; and the other, honey from 
the rocks, on which, from the scarcity of trees in 
the more barren regions of the East, the bees often 
deposit their grateful treasures. But even these 
supplies, which they could meet with, of course, 
only in the neighbourhood of the few flowery and 
verdant spots, were precarious, and often failed 
them ; so that through the effects of hunger, " their 
soul fainted within them." Happy, indeed, was 
their lot, above that of all other travellers in the 
same dreary wilds, that in these extremities they 
had an all-bountiful Provider to apply to, from 
whose miraculous stores they were regularly sup- 
plied with such copious showers of a peculiar food 
as banished all fears of want from the camp. Exod. 
xvi. And yet we are astonished to find, that amid 
the enjoyment of this divine liberality, they were 
still dissatisfied, and expressed their discontent, not 
in low murmurs, but in loud and vehement com- 
plaints. The reason of this extraordinary conduct, 
which is one of the most striking features of their life 
in the desert, may be sought for in the peculiar sen- 
sations to which the appetite is often subject in that 
barren rqgion. Travellers who have penetrated it, 
and who have been accustomed formerly to a plen- 

* Called in our translation roebucks ; by the Ara- 
bians, gazelles. 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 143 

tiful fare of animal food, often mention the extreme 
sufferings they experienced from the total want of 
it. To dream of banquets and tables of luxury be- 
came absolutely a disease of their imaginations. 
And we can easily enter, therefore, in such circum- 
stances, into the feelings of the Israelites, whose 
fancy was so often wandering amid the beautiful 
gardens that lined the banks of the Nile, and feast- 
ing on the superb melons which afforded them both 
meat and drink, and the high seasoned viands 
which crowned the tables of Egypt. But in them 
the indulgence of such regret and dissatisfaction 
was the blackest ingratitude ; and if the peculiarities 
of their situation made it the " sin that more easily 
beset them," they ought to have striven the more 
anxiously to live in contentment with that provi- 
sion which, like all the other circumstances of this 
period of their history, was intended as the trial of 
their faith and patience. 

Besides the dangers the Israelites encountered, 
through want of food and water, they were exposed 
to perils of another sort, arising from noxious rep- 
tiles. Deut. viii. 15. That part of the desert over 
which they travelled is greatly infested with a spe- 
cies of serpent, which Dr. Shaw, who met with 
numbers of them when he passed over the same 
region, says, is properly a lizard, having wings 
resembling those of the bat, with which they raise 
themselves in the air, and move with great velocity 
from tree to tree. Their bite is extremely venom- 
ous, and, on one occasion, produced a great mor- 
tality among the Israelites. Still greater annoyance 
they experienced from scorpions, which, being in 
the habit of lying among long grass, are peculiarly 
dangerous to those who, like the people of the East, 
travel with nothing but light sandals. Of the im- 



144 EASTERN MANNERS. 

mense number of these venomous and irascible 
creatures,* that are to be found in some parts of 
the desert, an idea may be formed, from the ex- 
perience of the soldiers of Mohammed Ali, whose 
route lay over almost the same regions that the Is- 
raelites traversed. The quantity of them was so 
great, that most of the soldiers were stung by them 
in their tents, and such the virulence of their poison, 
that most of those who were bit, died almost imme- 
diately. The alarm spread in the army in conse- 
quence became so great, that none of the soldiers 
would sleep in the tents, and, climbing up into the 
palm trees, chose in that manner to pass the night. 
It was in this wilderness, whose unearthly charac- 
ter was well fitted to impress the astonished mul- 
titude with the terrors of the Lord, that the law 
was given; and although the grand object of that 
law was to inculcate the principles and duties of 
morality and religion ; although many, if not all, of 
the civil and ceremonial provisions of that remark- 
able code, seem to have been subservient to the 
same ulterior end, the maintenance of moral purity, 
yet many of them are suited to the habits of a wan- 
dering people, or are adapted to the peculiarities of 
an Eastern climate, or refer to traditionary observ- 
ances which have been long established among the 
people, and trace their origin to the general cus- 
toms of the East. The first of the civil enactments 
of Moses which it occurs to mention, is that which 
enjoined it on any one who had taken the raiment 

* The malignity of these creatures may be judged of 
from an experiment of an eminent naturalist, who put a 
hundred together under one glass ; instantly they vent- 
ed their rage in mutual destruction, and in a lew days, 
only fourteen remained, which had killed and devoured 
all the rest. 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 145 

of another in pledge to restore it before sunset. 
Exod. xxii. 26. This regulation, which, of course, 
exclusively concerned the interests of the poor, was 
a humane and necessary provision, in all circum- 
stances, but especially during their stay in the 
desert; for, like the wandering Arabs of the present 
day, whose hyke or cloak is their all, serving 
them as a garment during the day, and constituting 
their whole bedding at night, when they wrap it 
round their body and face, and repose soundly on 
the bare ground, the dress of the poor among the 
Israelites of old was equally simple and scanty ; and 
to have been obliged to sleep on the stony ground, 
or the sand of the desert, without their spacious 
and principal cloak to keep out the piercing cold, 
and the copious dews of an Eastern night, would 
have been a serious inconvenionce in regard both 
to health and comfort.* 

To the same class, (Lev. xi.) too, belong the laws 
enacted respecting the people's diet, which, although 
obviously designed to teach them habits of self- 
denial, and the government of the appetites, and 
especially to keep them distinct from all other na- 
tions, had also, at the same time, a reference to the 
establishment of the public health. For those kinds 
of food of which the Jews were prohibited the use, 
were for the most part unwholesome, and difficult of 



* The same observations are applicable to the restora- 
tion of hand-mills, if lent or taken by a creditor. These 
hand-mills consisted of two portable stones, the upper- 
most of which was turned by a small handle of wood, 
placed in the edge of it. It was used by women., and 
on the morning of every day, they ground as much 
corn as was sufficient for the daily consumption of the 
family ; hence it was an essential article that could not 
be dispensed with. Exod. xxiv. 6. 



146 EASTERN MANNERS. 

digestion. Thus, for instance, pork is not good in 
hot climates, as Sonnini tells us, that, throughout 
Egypt, Syria, and many other parts of the East, 
that meat disagrees with the strongest stomachs ; 
and hence we find that it, together with the flesh 
of many other beasts which the Hebrew lawgiver 
pronounced unclean, is equally proscribed to the peo- 
ple of these other Oriental countries. Indeed, it may 
be observed in general, that many descriptions of 
food, in which we are accustomed to indulge at 
pleasure, are often attended with dangerous and 
even fatal consequences in these sultry climes, of 
which the following is a striking instance. During 
the British expedition in Egypt, in 1801, numbers 
of the soldiers died, through negligence or obstinacy 
in using all sorts of meat indiscriminately. The 
captain of one of the English frigates fell into a lin- 
gering sickness, of which he at length died, and the 
origin of which was traceable to his perseverance 
in eating eggs at breakfast, in spite of universal ex- 
perience, which had shown that no European can 
long do so with impunity. 

The law respecting the treatmentof persons infect- 
ed with leprosy, (Lev. xiv. 2,) was founded on the 
nature of that dreadful and generally incurable dis- 
ease, the symptoms of which consist in the appear- 
ance of dark reddish spots on the skin, that impercep- 
tibly become larger, and extend over the whole body, 
and are followed by unnatural swellings of the face, 
and hideous distention of the nostrils, scales on the 
hands, feet, and toes, that break out into deep dry 
ulcers, and rapidly waste away these members, 
and reduce the patient to such a horrible condition, 
that he at length falls to pieces, a mass of putrefac- 
tion. It is a disease common in hot countries, and, 
from the slowness with which the disorder mani- 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 147 

fests its character, and the difficulty of discriminate 
ing those who are overtaken by it ; from its con- 
tagious nature, and the terrible ravages it makes 
wherever it is allowed to establish itself, it has 
ever been the vigilant care of Eastern lawgivers to 
take the greatest precautions against it; and hence 
we find in many countries sanatory regulations, 
precisely similar to those of Moses, regarding the 
examination of all persons suspected of being in 
this unfortunate condition, and their expulsion from 
civil society. Travellers in Egypt Arabia, and 
the adjacent countries, frequently mention their 
having met in the neighbourhood of cities and vil- 
lages, but, for the most part, in wild and solitary 
parts, poor miserable victims of this disgusting dis- 
ease, whose wasted and deformed features scarcely 
retained the semblance of humanity, and who, 
though they required every measure of sympathy 
and attention, were doomed to live apart, and were 
prohibited, under the severest penalties, from ap- 
proaching any inhabited place. So strictly are 
these regulations enforced, that neither rank, charac- 
ter, nor influence, can procure exemption from 
them ; persons are torn from the embrace of their 
nearest relatives and friends; and a remarkable 
story is mentioned of a young Arab, who, having on 
the eve of his marriage been discovered to be le- 
prous, and forthwith removed to a remote place, 
had recourse to various arts, but without success, 
to regain the society of the object of his affections, 
and at last fell on the cruel expedient of getting 
conveyed to her some piece of his clothing, which 
communicated infection to her, and occasioned her 
being made the wretched companion of his solitude.* 

* Moses, as well as other Eastern lawgivers, ordained 
that lepers should have a distinctive dress ; as an in- 



148 EASTERN MANNERS. 

* The use of salt, Lev. ii. 13, which was commanded 
as an indispensable accompaniment of all sacrificial 
offerings, seems to have derived its origin from a ven- 
erable eastern custom ; for as that article was always 
regarded by the ancients as the emblem of fidelity 
and friendship, its ceremonial use was evidently in- 
tended to impress on the minds of the worshippers, 
through a practice with which they were familiar, 
the idea, that truth, harmony, and uprightness, 
should characterize all their transactions with one 
another, and especially all their engagements with 
God. That this well known commodity was very 
generally recognized by the ancients as the sign of 
these excellent virtues, and employed as the invio- 
lable pledge of every compact, may be perceived 
from the prominent appearance it makes in the 
amicable treaty which was formed between Jacob 
and Laban. And that it still possesses in some 
parts of the East the same symbolical character, 
appears from two curious anecdotes. One of them 
relates, on the authority of De Tott, that a person 
who formed an acquaintance with that ambassador, 
on his arrival in Turkey, turned sharply back on 
leaving the Frenchman's hotel, asked for a little 
salt, and having deliberately taken a bit of it be- 
tween his teeth, assured his new friend by that ac- 
tion that his confidence would never be betrayed. 
From the other anecdote, we learn that a notorious 
robber, who had broken into a palace, and was in 
the act of abstracting a great collection of valuable 
articles, having put into his mouth a handful of 

stance, Megabyzus, having escaped from Cyrta, a town 
near the Red Sea, where he had been banished by Ar- 
taxerxes Longimanus, travelled under the habit and 
disguise of a leper to his own house at Shusan. — 
Prideaux. 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 149 

shining particles which he thought to be diamonds, 
but which proved to be salt, immediately dropped 
all his booty and went away as he had entered. 
Such notions, which the customs of the East, from 
time immemorial, associated with salt, were en- 
listed into the service of the Mosaic law, to perpe- 
tuate along with the sacred tribute with which it 
was associated, the moral feelings and virtues 
which its symbolical character represented. 

Many provisions of the judicial code of Moses, 
as well as many parts of his ceremonial law, may 
be traced to customs that have a common Asiatic 
origin. Thus, in regard to the punishment of a 
murderer, so early as the age of Isaac, we found 
traces of Goelism, i. e., the custom which gives a 
right to, and makes it the duty of, the relations of a 
murdered person to revenge his death ; and so uni- 
versally does the practice prevail in all countries of 
the East, and so deeply are the sentiments con- 
nected with it engraven on the minds of the people 
in that quarter of the world, that its origin must evi- 
dently be ascribed to a very remote antiquity. How- 
ever necessary the practice may be, in an imperfect 
state of society, and where the minds of men are 
rude and unpolished, it is evidently attended with 
two great and serious evils ; as it tends to foster a 
spirit of deep and implacable revenge, and transmit 
animosities and feuds from one generation to 
another ; and also as, in the first moment of excite- 
ment, this mode of exercising justice must often be 
precipitate, and expose many persons to the danger 
of suffering, for accidents, of which, on proper and 
patient investigation, they might be found entirely 
innocent. Of many instances which might be ad- 
duced to show the risk which a person living where 
this practice prevails, may incur from the casual 
13* 



150 EASTERN MANNERS. 

death of another, the following, mentioned in a late 
book of Travels and Adventures in Egypt may be 
given. The incident occurred during the late war 
with the Wahabees ; the person who relates it is the 
Italian soldier so often alluded to already; and the 
circumstances in which it took place, were during 
the encampment of the Egyptian army in the neigh- 
bourhood of the Arabs, when the nightly instances 
of pillage were so frequent, that at last it became 
an essential part of military duty to watch for the 
robbers; and the numbers caught or killed were 
considerable. A very serious and melancholy ac- 
cident, however, occurred during the week that this 
Italian was doing the duty of sentinel. Hearing one 
morning, before it was light, a rustling noise, as of 
some person coming stealthily into the tent, he rose 
and prepared his fire-arms; and, having satisfied 
himself, on a nearer inspection, that there was an 
individual lurking outside the tent, in a suspicious 
situation, he took aim, and shot the supposed in- 
truder dead upon the spot. What was his horror, 
when on going up to the lifeless body and pre- 
paring to cut off the head, to secure the promised 
reward from the general, he discovered that he had 
killed his own bosom friend and comrade, who had 
been in the habit of retiring every morning at that 
early hour to engage in devotion, but the rarity of 
which practice among soldiers, made it never occur to 
the sentinel that any of his associates might have gone 
thither for such a purpose. The fact soon became 
known, and, as usual, was variously reported ; some 
representing it as a murder rather than an accident, 
till the unfortunate sentinel, very prudently repaired 
to the presence of his commander, and, having nar- 
rated the whole circumstances, produced, by his 
unvarnished tale and unfeigned sorrow, such an im- 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 151 

pression on the minds both of the general and the 
officers of his staff, of the truth of his story, that 
they unanimously absolved him from the imputa- 
tion of murder. This public and honourable ac- 
quittal, however, was not sufficient to screen him 
from further consequences ; for the deceased soldier 
hud friends and acquaintances in the army who felt 
a full right, and expressed a fixed determination, to 
have blood for blood; and the circumstance of the 
Italian, being known to be a stranger, and without 
connexions in the country, while it increased their 
inveteracy, tended to make them safer in their pur- 
pose. He was, in consequence, in continual dan- 
ger of being assassinated, and, on one occasion, 
when in a solitary unfrequented place, nearly paid 
with his own life the price of his unfortunate com- 
rade's ; for the nearest of his friends, on whom the 
obligation to avenge his death chiefly devolved, 
lying in wait for him, and rushing upon him be- 
fore he was aware, would have accomplished his 
object, had not the sentinel succeeded in disarm- 
ing him, and throwing him on the ground. To 
have slain the individual would only have aggra- 
vated his own distress, and increased the number 
of those who pursued him, so that he prudently 
dismissed the assailant, without availing himself of 
the advantage he had gained. But, wishing to pre- 
vent a recurrence of the encounter, and to free him- 
self from all liabilities in future, he determined again 
to appeal to the Pacha, who, seeing at once the full 
extent of the danger, and sending for those persons 
who considered themselves the natural and legal 
avengers of the soldier's blood, agreed to pay them 
in satisfaction the sum of several thousand piastres, 
on condition that they should desist from all further 
pursuit. This being accepted the sentinel was free 



152 EASTERN MANNERS. 

from all further molestation.* Occurrences of this 
unfortunate description are liable to happen at all 
times, and with persons who are animated with the 
most friendly dispositions towards each other; and 
where the administration of justice is made to flow 
through a channel in which it mingles with the pri- 
vate passions and interests of individuals connected 
by the closest ties with the unhappy sufferer, there 
is little likelihood that either time will be taken, or 
anxiety felt, to examine into the circumstances of 
the case; to distinguish between the dark and de- 
liberate designs of the assassin, and the misfortune 
of the unintentional homicide. The Goel, prompted 
by the united impulse of sorrow and honour, will 
take the first opportunity of plunging his dagger 
into the breast of the offender, and thereby wiping 
off the stain of blood which would otherwise remain 
on himself and his family. Moses, therefore, in 
order to prevent the dreadful effects of sudden and 
personal vengeance, and to afford an accused person 
the means and opportunity of freeing himself from 
a groundless charge, made the equitable and hu- 
mane provision of certain places, in which he who 
had unintentionally shed blood, should find an in- 
violable asylum. Numbers xxv. 13. Six cities 
of this description were appointed in Judea, to 
which persons in such unfortunate circumstances 
might betake themselves for safety, until they had 
a fair trial before the proper magistrates. One or 
other of these cities lay within a day's journey of 
every part of the land, so that, as it might rarely 
happen that the Goel would be on the spot, and none 
else had a right to detain the fugitive, these unhap- 

* Moses prohibited all pecuniary compensation for 
blood, in any circumstances. 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 153 

py offenders would generally have the advantage 
of their pursuers, and run little risk of being over- 
taken before they reached the place of refuge. But 
then, in availing themselves of this means of in- 
suring their safety, they had to make many sacri- 
fices, to leave their families, occupations, and all 
their interests; and, as all depended on expedition, 
they were compelled to travel, in spite of fatigue 
and every difficulty, and never to slacken their 
pace till they were within the walls of the sanctu- 
ary. The people of Judea were not the only peo- 
ple among whom provision was made for escaping 
the vengeance of the Goel ; for, in other countries 
where the practice has obtained of taking private 
satisfaction for the death of a relative, certain 
places have been honoured as sanctuaries, in which 
those who flee to them are safe from punishment. 
In Persia, although there are no towns of this 
description, yet there are two places which afford 
the necessary protection ; the one is the palace of 
the king, which is deemed a sacred asylum, what- 
ever, be the crime of an individual who flies to it 
from justice. At the time when Sir John Malcolm 
was in that country, there was a man of quality, 
whom the king was desirous of putting to death for 
some treason against the state, but, being quick 
enough to enter the palace, (although, if he had 
made but a step beyond the gate, he would have 
been instantly slaughtered without further process,) 
he was secured from every violence. None is 
ever refused admittance to the palace, but, on 
passing the threshold, which he kisses, he has a 
claim of protection. The other place of refuge in 
that country, is the royal stable, which is con- 
sidered the most inviolable of all sanctuaries. The 
same writer mentions that a nobleman in the reign 



154 EASTERN MANNERS. 

of Shah Abbas, who had assassinated the heir ap 
parent to the throne, as he was riding into the 
court, screened himself from the punishment he 
deserved, by instantly taking flight into the stable 
of the king, who, out of respect to ancient usage, 
though the murdered person was his own son, re- 
frained from the execution of the assassin.* Such 
places of refuge are absolutely necessary in coun- 
tries where all persons are liable, on the slightest 
suspicion, and, though perfectly guiltless, to the 
precipitate and unexpected vengeance of any one 
who may conceive them to be the instruments of 
the death of their friends. But in those sanctua- 
ries we have mentioned as existing in Persia and 
other Eastern countries, the grand defect is, that 
the greatest criminals who succeed in transporting 
themselves thither, escape with impunity, and, so 
long as they remain, are never visited with the 
penalties which their crime deserves; whereas, the 
superior excellence of the institution of Moses is, 
that the six cities which were appointed for the 
protection of the unintentional manslayer, merely 
sheltered him from the first ebullition of the ven- 
geance of the family of the deceased, but did not 
guaranty his freedom from punishment, if found 
deserving it. He was beyond the reach of 
the blind and impetuous fury of his pursuers, as 
soon as he reached any of the appointed sanc- 
tuaries, but he might there be brought to trial, and 
condemned on the production of sufficient evi- 
dence before the court of the place; so that by 
this means, the enactment of Moses, which sanc- 
tioned a practice that belongs only to an early 

* Mr. Bruce on one occasion saved himself by taking 
hold of the large pole of the Arab tent. 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 155 

and imperfect stage of society, combined *he great 
advantage of being calculated to promote the ends 
both of humanity and justice. 

Certain descriptions of guilt were tried, accord- 
ing to tne xaw of Moses, by making the accused 
person drink a portion of bitter water, Numbers v. 
18. This is the earliest account on record of the 
trial by ordeal which prevailed so generally among 
the ancients and which is still prevalent in many 
parts of the East in the present day. Thus Park 
mentions his being an eye witness to a transaction 
of this kind, where a young woman, the intended 
bride of a slave merchant, who had been absent for 
a considerable time from his native place, brought 
to him on his return a basin of water, in which he 
washed his hands, after which she, with a smile of 
satisfaction on her face, drank the contents of the 
ewer, as the strongest proof of her fidelity and at- 
tachment to him that she could give. This was 
evidently done in conformity with the established 
manners of the society in which the woman lived. 
But Mr. Campbell and many others tell us that this 
custom is still in use in the decision of judicial 
cases ; and that the water, prepared and presented 
to the culprit by the judges, contains a certain quan- 
tity of poison, more or less, according as it is their 
intention to destroy or spare the life of the accused. 
Jn many instances, however, the water used in this 
kind of trial is mingled only with bitter, and not with 
any poisonous ingredients ; and the object is, so to 
work upon the imagination of the suspected per- 
son, that, by the feelings he may betray, his judges 
may be led to what, in the absence of better evidence, 
they consider a right decision.* This mode of trial, 

*The same effect is sought after by the lawgivers in 
Africa, who place on the head of the accused, a cap, so 



156 EASTERN MANNERS. 

then, evidently appears to be an appeal to the funda- 
mental principle of human nature ; but Moses, when 
he incorporated this among the other provisions of 
his law, made it subservient to the grand object 
which that law had in view, by constituting it a 
direct appeal to the judgment of the Omniscient 
God. _ 

Legislating, as Moses was, for an agricultural 
and pastoral people, he directed, of course, many 
of his laws towards the preservation and manage- 
ment of rural concerns ; and there is one in parti- 
cular, in reference to reparation of damages occa- 
sioned by fire in the field, the necessity and import- 
ance of which cannot be understood, without ad- 
verting to the climate and circumstances of Judea. 
Exod. xxii. 6. In that country, it was the practice, 
as it is all over the East to this day, to consume the 
dry and withered herbage before the fall of the 
autumnal rains. The proper season for doing this 
is in the latter end of July, when the clouds that 
prognosticate the rainy period begin to appear in 
the south ; and, as it is of the greatest consequence 
that, before its approach, the grass and undergrowth 
on the mountains should be consumed, the hus- 
bandmen of the East are often induced, in their 
anxious haste to secure this advantage, to kindle 
fires all at once in many parts of the country, 
which, for want of due precautions, are often pro- 
ductive of the greatest destruction of property. 
Several instances of this might be adduced from 
the works of Oriental travellers ; but one only shall 
be selected, from the travels of Chandler, who was 
himself an eye witness of the scene he describes 
While he was occupied, about the latter end of 

contrived with mechanical springs, as to move by itself 
— Lander, 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 157 

August, in taking a plan of Troas, a Turk, who 
was alone with him, emptied the ashes of his pipe, 
and a spark fell unobserved among the grass, which, 
being parched by the torrid rays of the sun, was 
inflammable as tinder. A brisk wind soon kindled 
a biaze, which consumed in an instant the leaves 
of the bushes and trees around, seized in its resist- 
less progress on the branches and roots, and de- 
voured all before it with prodigious crackling and 
noise. So rapid was the advance of the devouring 
element, that the travellers and the inhabitants of 
the place, who crowded to the spot, were obliged 
to make a precipitate retreat, and became greatly 
alarmed, as a general conflagration of the country 
seemed inevitable. After the greatest exertions, 
however, for upwards of an hour, they succeeded 
in subduing the fire, but the loss of grain was im- 
mense. This incident, which is far from being a soli- 
tary or rare one, shows the urgent necessity there is 
for some regulations to secure the inhabitants of a 
scorching climate, where every combustible sub- 
stance is constantly on the point of ignition, from 
irremediable destruction ; and enables us to see the 
cause as well as the wisdom of the Mosaic law, 
which enacted that reparation should be made for 
the damage done by fire to property, whether it 
was occasioned by malice or negligence. 

The idea (Exod. xxi. 24.) that every man has a 
right to do himself justice, and to revenge his own 
injuries, is deeply implanted in the human breast; 
and, accordingly, in the infancy of all states, or 
where the right of society to take the redress of 
wrongs, and the punishment of crimes, into its own 
hands, is imperfectly understood, we find this law 
in full operation, and the principle acted upon, that 
the punishmentof offenders shall be an exact equiva- 
14 



158 EASTERN MANNERS. 

lent for the injuries sustained. Accordingly this 
law, which was in all probability prevalent among 
the Hebrews, before their emigration into Canaan, 
was ratified by the authority of Moses, who, hav- 
ing to deal with a people little accustomed to the 
restraints of the social state, found it necessary to 
interpose the greatest obstacles in the way of the 
exercise of private passions, by making every in- 
jury done, especially to the person of another, 
punishable by strict retaliation on the aggressor. 
An eye was to be given for an eye, and a tooth, 
for a tooth. Simple and natural as this principle 
of justice appears to be, it has been adopted by al- 
most all the early legislators of every state, as the 
basis of their judicial code. And we find it pre- 
vailing in some Eastern countries at the present 
day, in regard to the same class of delinquencies to 
which it was applied by the Hebrew lawgiver. 
Among some Indian states for example, we are 
told that it has been the immemorial practice, that 
if one person accidently wound another, although 
out of sight, with his arrow, ever so slightly, the 
sufferer, or any of his family, has a right to de- 
mand that he shall be wounded in the same man- 
ner; and a traveller in Persia mentions having met 
with a person who had lost one of his limbs, in 
consequence, as he was informed, of having in a 
scuffle shattered the leg of his antagonist so severe- 
ly, that amputation was required. Nor does the 
arbitrary spirit of Oriental justice confine this law 
of retaliation to bodily injuries only, like Moses , 
it is extended often to many other crimes by East- 
ern magistrates, who exercise their authority in a 
manner that seems more the effect of wanton cruel- 
ty, or barbarous caprice, than the suggestion of re- 
tributive justice. An instance of this kind is men- 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 159 

tioned by Joliffe, as having occurred while he was 
at Cairo. A police officer, observing one morning 
a female carrying a large piece of cheese, inquired 
where she had purchased it. Being ignorant of the 
vender's name, she conducted him to the shop ; and 
the magistrate suspecting the quantity to be deficient 
in weight, placed it in the scales, and found his sus- 
picion verified. Whereupon he straightway ordered 
his attendants to cut from the delinquent's person 
what would be equivalent to the just weight. The 
order was instantly complied with, and the unhap- 
py offender bled to death. Nothing can afford a 
stronger proof of a nation being still in a state of 
primitive barbarism, than the prevalence of legal- 
ized practices like this ; and in proportion as a peo- 
ple advance in civilization, other better means of 
obtaining justice will be established, which, while 
they are subservient to the public good, tend hap- 
pily to draw off the people's minds from the thoughts 
of private revenge. This desirable object was plain- 
ly contemplated by the institution of Moses, who, 
though he found it necessary, in the rude and early 
condition of his countrymen, to sanction the na- 
tural law of strict retaliation, softened the harsher 
features of that law, by placing the exercise of it, 
not in the hands of private individuals, but of the 
public magistrate. 

It is, in like manner, obvious, that the humane 
regulation regarding the treatment of the ox, when 
employed in treading out the corn, had a reference 
to the manner in which the Israelites conducted 
the process of threshing. Among that people, as 
among the people of Syria, Egypt, and many other 
Eastern countries, to this day, it was customary to 
employ oxen in beating out the corn ; an operation 
which these animals perform, by trampling on the 



160 EASTERN MANNERS. 

sheaves as they lie in loose heaps on the ground, 
and dragging alter them an unwieldy machine, 
which, in Arabia and Syria, consists of a large stone 
cylinder, or plank with sharp stones; but in Egypt, 
as seems to have been anciently the case in Judea, it 
is furnished with three rollers, that revolve on their 
own axles, with round flat irons. On a smooth and 
level plot of ground, selected for the purpose, and 
containing an area of eighty to a hundred paces 
round, the sheaves are deposited ; and then the 
driver mounting a wooden seat in the front-of the 
machine, drives the oxen backwards and forwards 
among them, till they appear sufficiently trodden 
down, and the grain is wholly extracted. For ani- 
mals to be placed in such a condition, and to con- 
tinue for a whole day treading over piles of fresh 
straw and oats, without being allowed, by the vigi- 
lant and merciless driver, to steal a morsel as they 
went on their weary rounds, would have been a 
situation tantalizing in the extreme, and in which 
they could have prosecuted their work only through 
the constant and cruel application of the goad. This 
enactment, which secured them the utmost freedom 
to satisfy themselves with the grain that was strew- 
ed amongst their feet, tended not only to inculcate 
humanity and mercy on their master, but was 
otherwise a wise regulation, as, by keeping up the 
spirits, and recruiting the strength of those patient 
and laborious creatures, the important work in 
which they were employed, and which crowned 
the labours of the husbandmen for the year, would 
be better and more rapidly performed.* 

* Besides the driver of the oxen, another person is em- 
ployed in an Eastern threshing-floor, whose duty it is to 
shake up the sheaves as they are trodden down, to re- 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 161 

While many of the laws of Moses (Deut. xiv. 1) 
were made in reference to circumstances which 
had a common Asiatic origin, or to prevent the Is- 
raelites from adopting the practices of their barbar- 
ous neighbours, others were enacted with a special 
view of guarding them against an imitation of the 
rites of idolatry. Of this nature were those statutes 
particularly, which prohibited any Hebrew, under 
the severest penalties, from wounding his person, 
and marking himself with incisions of any kind 
whatever. That individuals should ever have ex- 
isted who were prone to so strange a species of 
voluntary penance, and who could do homage to a 
deity of so savage a character, as to be conceived 
gratified by so painful a sacrifice on the part of his 
votaries, would have been almost incredible, did 
we not know, on the authority of authentic history, 
that nothing was more common in the religious 
ceremonies of many ancient nations, than this bar- 
barous custom. The Persian Magi used to pretend 
to appease tempests and allay winds, by making 
ghastly cuts on their faces, and at their greatest 
festivals they paraded the streets and highways, 
slashing themselves with knives till the blood gush- 
ed out. Even at the present day, the same prac- 
tice prevails in many places of the East, and fre- 
quent instances of it occur in books of travels, and 
the report of missionaries, who testify to its ob- 
servance among modern heathens, in the highest 
as well as the lowest degree of civilization. Among 

place them again in a heap beneath the feet of the 
oxen as they return, till the straw is broken into small 
pieces ; the whole is then gathered together, and 
shaken against the wind by a man, who uses for the 
purpose a small shovel, or, as it is called, a winnowing 
fan; by which operation the chaff is blown away, while 
the grain is left. 

14* 



162 EASTERN MANNERS. 

the New Zealanders, who are perhaps the rudest 
people on the face of the earth, there is established 
the strange custom of tattooing, or marking their 
faces and other parts of their bodies with a variety 
of devices in honour of their gods ; and among the 
Hindoos, who possess the most perfect and gigantic 
system of heathen worship that the world has ever 
seen, to brand themselves with the marks of their 
respective deities, is a practice not only common, 
but held in the highest veneration; for before any 
one is admitted to the privilege of entering a temple, 
he must receive on his forehead an impression, 
which varies in form, and also in the colour with 
which it is distinguished, according as the temple 
happens to be that of Vishnu or Siva, the grand ob- 
jects of their superstition ; and besides these im- 
portant incisions, which he wears on his forehead, 
every Hindoo has also many others, amounting fre- 
quently to upwards of a hundred, on the arms, 
hands, and other parts of the body, which vary in 
size and form according to the rank or fervour of 
the devotee. These marks are in many cases re- 
newed every day ; for it is considered an act of im- 
piety to perform any sacred rite to a god without 
his appropriate mark being on the worshipper. Of 
so much importance is this marking held in the 
mysteries of heathen worship, that the whole pro- 
fession of their religion is sometimes summed up 
in it. A modern heathen, when desirous of know- 
ing the deity of whom another is the worshipper, 
does not inquire into the principles he holds, or 
the rites he performs, but looks at the discrimi- 
nating marks he bears as the badge of his worship. 
A very remarkable instance of the prevalence of 
the same ideas in ancient times, occurs in the history 
of the persecution which was carried on by Ptole- 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 163 

my Philopater against the Jews in Alexandria; the 
grand condition on which life was offered to that 
oppressed people being, their submitting to have 
the mark of an ivy leaf impressed upon them by a 
hot iron. As these marks and incisions, then, have 
been observed in all ages by the heathen nations of 
the East, as one of their sacred ceremonies, it is 
not unreasonable to conclude, that the idolatrous 
contemporaries of Moses were in the habit of bear- 
ing about on their bodies the same badges of their 
faith ; and as these would be considered as tests of 
alliance with the neighbouring people, they were 
sternly prohibited by the law of Moses to the wor- 
shippers of the true God.* 

A similar reason dictated the law that proscribed 
certain modes of cutting the hair. Lev. xix. 27. 
Some of the ancient heathens, with whom the hair 
was always held in highest esteem, were in the 
habit of consecrating it to their deities; as, for in- 
stance, the worshippers of the heavenly bodies, 
who cut it off entirely around the extremities of 
their heads, leaving only a circular patch on the 
crown, to represent the sun ; or they shaped it in 
form of a crescent, to indicate the moon. Similar 
devices they were wont to make with their beards ; 
and, therefore, to prevent the slightest approxima- 
tion, on the part of the Israelites, to practices which, 
however innocent and trifling in themselves, had 
acquired a sinful character, from their being en- 



* It was customary with the ancients, and still pre- 
vails among the Arabs and other Eastern people, to 
paint their bodies with figures of various animals, at 
their marriage and other festivals, and also to cut 
themselves severely in time of mourning. Both these 
practices, as having some remote connection with su- 
perstition, the Hebrews were forbidden to observe. 



164 EASTERN MANNERS. 

listed in the cause of idolatry, the law of Moses 
prohibited them under the severest penalties. 

To mention only one other branch of the Mosaic 
code, (Exod. xxxiv. 26,) in illustration of its bear- 
ing on the customs of the Eastern World — it was 
anciently a common practice at their harvest feasts 
to kill a kid, and having boiled it in the milk of the 
dam, to go in procession round the fields, gardens, 
and trees, sprinkling each of them at short intervals, 
with a portion of the liquid, with a design of making 
them more productive the following season. What- 
ever was the origin of this singular superstition, it 
was considered as a magical rite, which, when duly 
observed, insured the prosperity of the husband- 
man, and the abundance of his crops. That this 
was the light in which it was regarded by the He- 
brew lawgiver, is evident from his mentioning it 
along with the feast of ingathering; and therefore 
it was proper and necessary to give it an express 
prohibition in a system of laws, which waged war 
with the whole tribe of charms, incantations, and 
superstitious observances. 

The important objects of their abode in the wil- 
derness having been accomplished, the Israelites at 
length marched directly in the line of that promised 
land, of which they were going to take possession. 
Their way lay through the territories of various in- 
dependent tribes, to whom, as they had no cause 
of quarrel, and no intention to contend with them, 
they despatched pacific messages, soliciting a free 
passage through their country, and, at the same 
time, promising a full indemnity for all the damage 
that might be occasioned to the inhabitants by the 
presence of so vast a multitude. Such, however, 
was the universal dread of that heaven-protected 
people, or so extensive were the alliances of the 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 165 

Canaanites, whom they were going to expel from 
their possessions, that the most most determined op- 
position to their progress was menaced by all the 
intermediate princes. Two characteristic circum- 
stances are recorded at this period of their history. 
Numb. xx. 19. The one was the refusal of the 
king of Edom to allow them a passage through his 
dominions, although both the hereditary ties that 
united the two nations, and especially the advan- 
tageous conditions on which the Israelites proposed 
to purchase the privilege of marching along their 
highways, might have led us to expect a cordial 
and unhesitating compliance with their request. 
That a foreign army, proposing to march through 
the territories of an independent prince, should so- 
licit his consent to their entrance, and should also 
pay for all the provisions they might require, ap- 
pears both reasonable and necessary ; but that they 
should also be obliged to pay for the water they 
might use, seems to us, with whom that article is 
so common, a strange exercise of arbitrary power. 
And yet, from its scarcity in the warmer climes of 
the East, the practice of levying a tax for the use 
of the wells is universal, and the jealousy with 
which the natives watch over the inestimable trea- 
sure is so great, that money is often insufficient to 
procure it. Mr. Campbell, when passing through 
a village in the great Zahara desert, solicited water 
from the inhabitants, as neither he nor his beasts 
of burden had had a draught for twenty-four hours. 
But although he offered them money, and even to- 
bacco, of which they were passionately fond, they 
were so inhospitable and avaricious of their trea- 
sure in wells, that they would not part with a single 
drop to him. Lander, too, mentions a tribe who, 
being situated on the borders of a small river, Oly, 



166 EASTERN MANNERS. 

exacted a tribute from all the caravans that travel- 
led along the road through their country; and 
when the travellers had found another and a shorter 
road, by which they could go and obtain water for 
nothing, the jealous natives occasioned them so 
much molestation, that they were obliged at last to 
return to their old route and pay for the water they 
took. Major Rooke mentions an incident of the 
same kind. The company with whom he was 
travelling, having reached a spot inhabited by a 
tribe of Bedouins, and furnished with a plentiful 
supply of water, offered to buy that commodity 
/rom the natives; but an exorbitant price being de- 
manded, and the travellers insisting on obtaining 
it on more reasonable terms, a skirmish commenced, 
which cost the lives of several on both sides. From 
these circumstances, we perceive the reason for 
the Hebrews' proposal to pay for every thing, even 
for the water they might take from the fountains 
and wells of the Edomites, during their march 
through the territories of that people; and we may 
judge also how effectually the inhabitants of an 
eastern country can stop the progress of an in- 
vading army, if they can keep the command of all 
the watering places within their bounds. 

The other characteristic circumstance that oc- 
curred during the march of the Israelites towards 
Canaan, was the extraordinary measures which the 
king of Moab adopted to accomplish their defeat 
and utter destruction. Numb. xxii. Like the other 
princes that reigned on the confines of the promised 
land,Balak had made preparations for a determined 
resistance of the invaders; but, not satisfied with 
the levy of all his men of war, and with putting 
strong garrisons into every fort that commanded 
the passes of his kingdom, he sent a deputation of 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 167 

eminent persons, to enlist in his cause the services 
of the most celebrated soothsayer that could be 
found in the land. That the JVfoabitish monarch 
attached very great importance to the presence and 
aid of that far-famed sage, is apparent, not only 
from the character of the messengers whom he des- 
patched to apprize the diviner of his wishes, but 
still more, from the character and rank of the second 
deputation,* who were sent with a more urgent re- 
quest, and empowered to promise a more tempting 
bribe ; and yet it is difficult for an ordinary reader 
of the sacred story to conceive the grounds of so 
great anxiety on the part of a warlike and enter- 
prising chief, to have the countenance of a conjuror, 
or the indispensable importance of his magical arts, 
previous to the commencement of a desperate en- 
gagement. To enable him to understand the mo- 
tives of Balak's conduct it is necessary to remark, 
that this step was not resorted to for the purpose 
merely of engaging in sacrifice and worship, though 
these were almost always among the preliminaries 
of ancient battles, but of solemnly devoting the He- 
brew army to destruction ; an effect which, accord- 
ing to a strong and general persuasion, could be 
produced by the intercessions of an eminent magi- 
cian or servant of the gods, and which the subse- 



* Morier relates, that on the approach of the British 
embassy to the capital of Persia, first one procession, 
then a second, consisting of more eminent persons, 
were deputed to honour it ; and Lander says, that as he 
was entering the village of "Wow, the chief sent a num- 
ber of persons to meet him — first a man blowing a horn, 
and then some men bearing a large silk umbrella, and 
lastly, two of the principal persons came and conducted 
him to the chief's residence. 



168 EASTERN MANNERS. 

quent exertions of the soldiers, on whose behalf he 
was engaged, were simply the instrument of real- 
izing. On some occasions, the conductor of this 
solemn ceremony offered sacrifices, as we find Ba- 
laam doing, on seven altars, and employed an ela- 
borate train of mystic charms. But at other times, 
especially if the circumstances admitted of no delay, 
he commenced at once with discharging a volley of 
imprecations on the opposite host, which was 
generally done according to a prescribed form, and 
the principal parts of which consisted of an invoca- 
tion to the deities, who were the tutelary guardians 
of the place, to abandon it ; a supplication to the 
objects of their own worship to occupy the forsaken 
temples and city with their angry presence and the 
tokens of their power; and a description of the ra- 
venous birds and beasts who would come to glut 
themselves with the carcasses of the slain. This 
solemn form of devoting an enemy to destruction, 
together with all the horrid rites and imprecations 
which the Romans used in it, Crassus observed at 
the gate of the city out of which he marched to the 
war against the Parthians. The history of Hin- 
dostan also abounds with accounts of native princes 
taking sages with them to curse their enemies, 
whom, but for this, they would have dreaded as 
too powerful for them. Not long ago, we are in- 
formed by Mr. Forbes, the Indian astrologers were 
consulted by the Gracia chiefs on the first rumour 
of the British expedition against Mandira, and hav- 
ing gone to curse them, flattered the vanity of the 
native princes, that their fortress was impregnable, 
that the English arms would not prevail, and that 
they might consequently set their threats at definace. 
From these circumstances, the anxiety of Balak to 



LIFE IN THE DESERT. 169 

enjoy the benefit of Balaam's services is perfectly 
intelligible, and accordant with the prevailing ideas 
of his age ; and whether any of the neighbouring 
princes, who imitated him in opposing the advances 
of the Hebrews, had recourse to the same dark 
rites to assure themselves of the overthrow of their 
foes, the intense eagerness he displayed, the trou- 
ble and expense he was at in bespeaking an aux- 
iliary of so great consequence as the son of Peor, 
betrayed his fears of the hopelessness of his enter- 
prise, if left without any other ground of confidence 
than his own arms to fight with the formidable in- 
vaders.* 

The arms of Israel, though frequently employed, 
and, through the blessing of God, crowned with 
yictory, were not the only weapons by which the 
Canaanites were expelled from the land of promise. 
The Lord had promised to send hornets among 
the inhabitants of that country ; and though the sa- 
cred history has not informed us either at what pe- 



* Balaam's beast could not pass, for an angel stood in 
the way, a circumstance which implies that it was very 
narrow, and such are all the roads in the East. " Our 
road," says Mr. Gifford, "lay over the plain, by a path 
in which we had to follow each other in Indian file, 
which, by all the evidence of the localities, must have 
also been the Grecian mode of marching ; for we hardly 
met throughout the Morea the vestiges of a road or 
street in which two armed persons could have walked 
abreast." — Visit to the Ionian Isles, Athens and the 
Morea. It is well known too, to the classical scholar, 
that the main incident of the GEdipean story was occa- 
sioned by the narrowness of the high road between 
Thebes and Delphi. Even at a spot where three roads 
met, CEdipus, a single foot passenger, was forced out 
of the way by the car of Laius.— Sophocles (Edipus 
Tyrannus, 804. 

15 



170 EASTERN MANNERS. 

riod during the progress of invasion, these terrible 
agents accomplished their task, or what effect that 
attack produced on the enemies of Israel, its silence 
as to these two points ought not to drive us, with 
some interpreters, to consider the word hornet as 
merely a metaphorical expression for a contagious 
disease, or some other terror of the Lord ; or to 
scout the idea of so small an insect being employ- 
ed as the instrument of Divine vengeance on a 
guilty and devoted people. The general style and 
character of the narrative precludes the supposition 
of so great a departure from the simplicity of a his- 
toric record, as would be implied in considering 
that promise of Divine aid to the Hebrews in the 
light of a figurative allusion ; while the history of 
many ancient nations makes it not at all incredible 
that those insects could be so large and so destruc- 
tive as to compel a whole people to abandon their 
habitations, and seek refuge in another land. It is 
well known that those winged creatures, though so 
small in our colder latitudes, are remarkable in tro- 
pical climates for their formidable size, their iras- 
cible temper, and their deadly sting — and iElian, 
in his History of Animals, mentions it as a curious 
instance of the destructive ravages these occasion, 
that the Pharsalians, a tribe of the Canaanites, were 
compelled to emigrate by the countless swarms of 
them that infested their country. Stories of simi- 
lar effects being produced by other insects and ani- 
mals, equally insignificant for their general charac- 
ter and size, may be adduced as confirming the pro- 
bability of this anecdote of jElian. An army led 
by one of the great conquerors of ancient India, 
was compelled to alter its route by encountering 
some myriads of bees which had built their cells 



LIFE IN THE DESEET. 171 

on the highways, and being exasperated by one of 
the horses coming in contact with a hive and over- 
turning it, attacked the soldiers so furiously that 
the whole army was put to flight, and the beasts 
of burden so severely stung that they died in great 
numbers from the injuries they had received. " The 
bees in India," says Mr. Forbes, " are often very 
troublesome and dangerous, and annoyed us in our 
visits to the caves at Salsette and the Elephanta, 
where they make their combs on the clelts of the 
rocks, and in the recesses among the figures, and 
hang in immense clusters. I have known a whole 
party put to the route in the caverns of Salsette, 
and obliged to return with their curiosity unsatis- 
fied, from having imprudently fired a gun to dis- 
perse the bees, who, in their rage, pursued them 
to the bottom of the mountains." After this, it is 
not difficult to conceive that hornets may have been 
fit and powerful instruments, in the hand of Provi- 
dence, to expel the Canaanites from the land, and 
pave the way for the easier and less contested oc- 
cupation of it by the posterity of Israel. 



172 EASTERN MANNERS. 



CHAPTER V. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 

Character of the wars under the Judges — story of Ehud — mode of 
offering presents to a king — time chosen by Ehud for the execu- 
tion of his plot — story of Jael— grounds of Sisera's confidence in 
that woman — story of Gideon — lapping water to the mouth by the 
hand— exploit similar to Gideon's by an Arab prince — massacre of 
Gideon's family by Abimelech — frequent massacres in the royal 
families of the East — Samson's marriage and riddles — riddles a 
favourite amusement — Samson's setting fire to the fields — treatment 
of Samson when a prisoner — description of the place where he was 
called to exhibit himself to the Philistines — capture and deposit of 
the ark in the temple of Dagon — manner and reason of the disaster 
that befel that idol— golden images sent back with the ark— Ruth's 
mingling with reapers — sleeping at the feet of the great — transact- 
ing business at the gate— pulling off the shoo— Saul in search of 
strayed cattle — applies to Samuel — necessity of presents to obtain 
an interview with a great man— hospitable reception from the pro- 
phet — sleeping on the roof — Samuel executing Agag — common for 
great men to perform such offices. 

The history of the early occupation of Canaan by 
the Israelites, is almost one continued record of al- 
ternate victories and defeats, according as that fickle 
people retained or renounced their allegiance to God. 
This state of warfare, however, was not of that 
general nature, as to engage the forces of the whole 
confederate tribes, being commonly confined to those 
whose settlements lay on the border, and the cam- 
paign on both sides scarcely ever extending beyond 
a desultory contest, or a midnight stratagem. But 
the annals of that unsettled period, besides the light 
they throw on the Divine procedure, in regard to 
the establishment of the people of Israel, are im- 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 1 73 

portant, as enabling us to form an idea of the gene- 
ral manners of the age, and the state of military 
science in particular. As the events comprised in 
this period of Jewish history, and which we are 
about to illustrate, refer to the exploits of chiefs and 
tribes, living in a state of independence, and in va- 
rious parts of the land, and all partake of a common 
character, a few general observations may suffice, 
without a particular notice of any, except of those 
which are the most remarkable and characteristic. 
The first feature in the wars of this period, that 
presents itself to the notice of the reflecting reader, 
is the hurried, irregular, and desultory manner in 
which they were conducted; for being nothing 
more than the skirmishes of the few neighbouring 
cantons of people, actuated by jealousy, or by some 
feelings of temporary excitement, they were rather 
the actions of those who were anxiously watching 
the fortunate moment for attacking their adversa- 
ries, and securing by flight the advantage they had 
gained, than a series of hostilities prosecuted on 
any regular and well concerted plan — resembling, 
in short, the sudden incursions of the Arabs, who 
make an unexpected descent on their peaceful 
neighbours, and in a moment scamper off, to pre- 
serve the booty they have acquired. From the 
marauding character of these wars resulted almost 
of necessity the treachery and artifice, which is 
their second prominent feature — for the party who 
had been attacked, plundered, and laid under tri- 
bute, having no standing forces, and being afraid of 
meeting their oppressive masters in the open field, 
generally sought to accomplish by surprise and 
stratagem, what they were unable to do by force 
of arms; and hence we meet with so many in- 
stances of attacks made in the night, and by incon- 
15* 



174 EASTERN MANNERS. 

siderable parties, being followed by the overthrow 
of numerous armies. But the feature that most of 
all characterizes these ancient wars, is the barbar- 
ous atrocities that the conquerors committed on the 
unhappy individuals whom the fate of war had put 
in their power. Not satisfied with the possession 
of their persons and the surrender of their arms, 
they acted as if they deemed their triumph incom- 
plete, unless they gave their wretched captives 
some permanent and indelible marks of degrada- 
tion; and that the very appearances of these victims 
of misfortune might remind all who beheld them, 
of the power and glory of the prince before whose 
victorious arms they had fallen, the ancient con- 
querors were wont, in the wantonness of barbarous 
joy, to make their prisoners submit to the most 
strange and unsightly mutilations. Nor was it 
mere wanton triumph alone that dictated those cru- 
elties. They had it in view at the same time to 
disqualify their enemies from ever bearing arms 
against their masters; and hence the members 
which were principally exposed to such barbarities, 
were those which were of greatest use in the prac- 
tice of ancient war. As the hand was indispensa- 
ble for the close mode of fighting which then pre- 
vailed, and the thumb was necessary for taking a 
firm grasp of the sword, or pulling the string of the 
bow, these were generally the first to suffer; and 
much as we may be disgusted with the savage 
character of Adonibezek, who had threescore and 
ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes 
cut off, gathering their meat under his table, it is 
not worse than that of many other princes of an- 
tiquity, and of the East still, who have often stained 
their victorious arms by perpetrating similar abuses 
on their defenceless captives. The histories of 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 175 

Turkey and Persia, and the works of travellers who 
have had intercourse with many of the Beys of 
Egypt, and the native princes of India, abound with 
instances of horrid cruelty precisely similar to those 
inflicted on his captives by the ancient king of 
Bezek. In Ava, a traveller found, some time ago, 
some poor wretches crawling about the court of 
the palace unable to walk from the amputation of 
their feet, or to give themselves any effectual aid, 
through the total loss of their hands; while, to add 
to their misery, the disgusting relics of what was 
once a part of themselves were strewed here and 
there on the pavement as trophies of the master 
whose slaves they had become. Nor is the ampu- 
tation of the hands and feet the only indignity 
which oriental conquerors have been wont to in 
flict on their prisoners. The face, being the prin- 
cipal part of the body, the cruel pride of the vic- 
tors has been gratified in devising the means of dis- 
figuring it; and hence a very common spectacle 
exhibited in the courts of Eastern princes, is that 
of persons wanting the nose or the ears. In the 
history of Hindostan, there is an accouut of a prince 
who sent orders to the general of his forces to put 
to death the principal inhabitants of a town which 
had rebelled, and to cut off the ears, the noses, and 
the lips, of every one who was allowed to survive, 
even of the infants who were not found in their 
mothers' arms, ordering at the same time all the 
noses, and ears, and lips, that had been cut off, to 
be sent to him, that he might ascertain the number 
of captives. The order was carried into execution 
with every mark of horror and cruelty, none es- 
caping but those who could play on a wind instru- 
ment. Many put an end to their lives in despair, 
and it was a shocking spectacle, says the narrator, 



176 EASTERN MANNERS. 

to see so many living people with their faces so 
dreadfully disfigured, that they resembled the sculls 
of the diseased. This was wanton cruelty dis- 
played on too large a scale to meet with general 
imitation : but, lest it should be supposed that such 
atrocities were confined to the princes of barbarous 
tribes, and who lived in a remote antiquity, we may 
mention a recent instance, which occurred in Per- 
sia, one of the largest and most civilized kingdoms 
of the East. " The principal favourite," says Sir 
John Malcolm, "having, through some suspicion, 
fallen into disgrace, the king ordered his nose and 
ears to be cut off, one of his eyes to be torn out, 
and in that sad plight was he obliged, for ten years, 
to direct the councils of the imperial monster." 
After such examples of barbarity, the reader will 
be disposed to acknowledge that Adonibezek does 
not stand solitary among those Eastern princes who 
have wantonly abused the unfortunate creatures, of 
whom victory gave them the right of possession. 
The particulars now mentioned, stamp the war-law 
of the ancient, and especially of the eastern world, 
with a much greater degree of severity than is 
manifested among us, who are accustomed, the mo- 
ment the contest is over, to indulge in an inter- 
change of every office of civility and kindness to- 
wards those whom the fate of war has thrown into 
our hands. Such is the benign influence which 
Christianity has diffused ; nor should we be sur- 
prised that the Israelites, who possessed the purest 
faith of antiquity, did not regulate their conduct by 
the mild and humane law of nations which obtains 
with us, and which is by many hundred years of 
later date. They acted in the very manner in 
which their vanquished enemies would have done, 
had they been fortunate enough to have been the 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 177 

conquerors; and their conduct was sanctioned by 
the manners of all contemporary states, and that 
strong law of nature, which leads men to treat 
others as, in similar circumstances, they would 
themselves be treated. 

The first two stories of interest and importance 
that occur in the early history of the settlement in 
Canaan, afford examples of the treachery that we 
have mentioned as characterizing this period. 

It appears from the sacred narrative, (Judges 
iii.) that Ehud left his native country to carry the 
yearly tribute to the king of Moab, with a fixed 
determination of freeing his countrymen from the 
yoke of a foreign despot ; and that, for this purpose, 
he had concealed, under the folds of his robe,* a 
dagger, which he intended to plunge into the heart 
of the unsuspecting Moabite. Ehud, it seems, was 
the only man of spirit and courage among the then 
degenerate race of Israel ; and it would have little 
availed them that they were rid of their foreign 
master, if the patriotic individual, who conceived 
the design of their freedom, had fallen in the enter- 
prise, and left them without a leader to improve the 
crisis. But the embassy which he headed, pro- 
mised the greatest facilities for the execution of his 
design; and almost the only circumstance necessa- 
ry to insure its success, was to wait in patience for 



* The dagger of Ehud was placed on his right thigh, 
which the loose garments of the Eastern people, while 
they would effectually conceal it, would render not so 
inconvenient a position as we are apt to imagine. 
Some tribes, as the Malays, carry their daggers, which 
resemble our sickle in shape, under the waist-cloth, 
and next the breast ; and others again carry these un- 
der their turbans. They have been known, sometimes, 
to be concealed in the long hair of that people.— 
Roberts. 



178 EASTERN MANNERS. 

a proper time, when the plot could be accomplished 
with safety to himself. That time, he had deter- 
mined, should be after the presentation of his tri- 
bute, and his departure from the royal presence; 
and the wisdom of this arrangement will be readily 
perceived, by attending to the etiquette that is ob- 
served in Eastern courts. There, no one can be 
admitted without bringing some present along with 
him; and, as the Orientals are fond of displaying 
their gifts with much pomp and parade, bearing on 
four or five horses what could easily be carried on 
one, and committing these to the care of a numer- 
ous retinue, we may easily conceive the vast train 
which an ambassador will take along with him, 
who is desirous of obtaining the countenance of the 
prince to whom he is sent. Of the ostentatious 
manner in which presents to Eastern princes are 
conveyed, a curious instance occurs in the history 
of a British embassy, in the time of Queen Eliza- 
beth, to the King of Acheen, which was charged 
with a treaty of peace and alliance. The ambassa- 
dor having been ushered into the royal presence, 
and intimated his wish to offer his presents, which 
were ordered in the Oriental style, the ceremony 
of their presentation commenced. The procession 
began with a band of musicians, who were imme- 
diately followed by the chief confidential attendant 
of the ambassador, mounted on a large elephant, 
^nd bearing a spacious silver dish, on which were 
laid the credentials of the envoy. Then followed 
fourteen persons, each carrying some part of the 
present, covered with yellow cloth, and each of 
whom approached in succession with his burden, till 
the whole present was submitted in detail to the royal 
inspection. This ostentation in the offering of pre- 
sents to Eastern princes, which has been observed 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 179 

from time immemorial, explains the language of 
the sacred historian, when he speaks of Ehud hav- 
ing " made an end" of offering his present ; and as 
the custom is for ambassadors and their train 
all to retire together, it is evident that the presence 
of so many persons as must have been spectators 
of this pageant in the court of Moab, rendered it 
impossible for the Hebrew chief, at that time, to 
execute the deed he meditated. Nor would it have 
been practicable for him to have carried it into effect 
at all, if the etiquette of the Moabitish court had 
been like that of European monarchs, who are con- 
stantly surrounded by their attendants. From a cir- 
cumstance, however, mentioned by Bruce, the Abys- 
sinian traveller, it appears that Ehud, in returning, 
and requesting a private audience of the king, acted 
in strict conformity with the customs of the time 
and place, so that neither the suspicion of the king 
nor his courtiers could be excited by his conduct, 
as it is usual for the attendants of Eastern princes 
to withdraw, when secret messengers are to be deli- 
vered. " I drank," says he, " a dish of coffee, and 
told him that I was a bearer of a confidential mes- 
sage from AH Bey of Cairo, and was desirous of 
delivering it to him without any witnesses when- 
ever he pleased. The room was accordingly clear- 
ed without delay, excepting the secretary, whom, 
as he also was going away, I pulled back, as his 
assistance was necessary." This being the estab- 
lished custom of an Eastern court, Ehud found no 
difficulty, and excited no suspicion, by his applica- 
tion for a private audience, and his return, dexter- 
ously contrived to be about noon, promised a bet- 
ter and safer opportunity of accomplishing his pur- 
pose, than if he had solicited a secret interview 
immediately after his public presentation. For at 



180 EASTERN MANNERS. 

that time the king, according to the usual practice 
of the East, had retired to a remote part of the 
palace, to take his siesta — his meridian repose ; and 
in the arbour which, in the sultry season, he fre- 
quented for that enjoyment, there was no attendant 
within hearing of his cry, and none would disturb 
him till the assassin had fled beyond the reach of 
his pursuers.* 

The extraordinary feat of Shamgar (Exod. iii. 
31,) who slew six hundred men with an ox-goad, 
will appear less extraordinary, when we consider 
the nature of the weapon he weilded. It was one 
of those enormous instruments with which Eastern 
ploughmen drive their oxen. " They are armed," 
as we are informed by Maundrell, the only travel- 
ler who has described them, " at the lesser end with 
a sharp prickle, and at the other with a small spade, 
or iron paddle, strong and massy, of which the pur- 
pose is to clean the plough from the clay that en- 
cumbered it in working. They are used by the 
country people, while ploughing up the ground. 
The same person both drives the oxen and manages 
the plough, and, consequently, requires a goad, as 
above described, to avoid the incumbrance of two 
instruments. I am confident," he adds, " that who- 
ever ssw one of these, would cease to wonder at 
the prodigious strength of the son of Anath, who 
slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an 
ox-goad — an instrument much better adapted for 
such terrible vengence than the sharpest Toledo 
blade." 

Great as was the service which Jael (Judges iv. 

*Ehud, to prevent discovery, locked the door of the 
parlour where he had left the bleeding corpse of the 
king. It may surprise the reader to be informed, that 
keys in the Erst are all made of wood. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 181 

1,) rendered to the cause of Israel, and highly as 
her enterprise is lauded in the triumphal ode of 
Deborah, there was an apparent treachery in her 
conduct of the basest kind, which can only be ac- 
counted for, or justified on the supposition that she 
acted under a divine impulse, to destroy a most de- 
termined enemy of God and his people. The cir- 
cumstances that have given her celebrity are briefly 
these. The forces of Israel, led on by Deborah 
and Barak, whom the Lord had inspired with the 
noble design of asserting the independence of their 
country, met in an engagement on the banks of the 
Kishon, with the army of Jabin, to whom they had 
long been tributary ; and notwithstanding the troops 
of the enemy were numerous and well appointed,* 
and were commanded by a brave and experienced 
general, the arms of Israel were, through the bless- 
ing of God, crowned with a glorious victory, and 
vast numers of the Canaanites perished in the 
rout, or were swept away by the swollen river, 
and drowned.f Of the fate of none of the fugitives 
has any notice been preserved, except of Sisera, 
who, from the distinguished station he held as the 



* Sisera had nine hundred chariots of iron. .Ancienly, 
kings and warriors often fought from chariots, armed 
with iron scythes projecting from the axle on each side. 
They were so large, as often to contain fifty men; and 
being driven with immense rapidity through the ranks 
of the enemy, must, together with the swords of the 
combatants who filled them, have done great execution. 

f Anciently horses were not shod, nor are they at the 
present day in many places of the East. In conseqeunce 
of the rapidity of the flight, the hoofs of the horses that 
drew these iron chariots, were, as Deborah mentions in 
her song, shattered and broken, and the horses becom- 
ing lame, left their riders an easy prey to the ven- 
geance of the pursuers. 

16 



182 EASTERN MANNERS. 

Canaanitish general, and the singular manner in 
which he met his death, occupies a considerable 
space in the sacred story. In his flight, he made 
for the tent of Heber, a pastoral and independent 
Sheik of that country, who was at peace with his 
master; and, making his name and situation known 
he was hospitably received by the wife of the chief, 
who was himself from home. The tent of Heber 
was not far distant from the field of battle ; and in a 
place so accessible to his pursuers, and which was 
so likely to be searched, it was not probable that 
Sisera would have trusted himself, and given him- 
self up to the tranquil influence of sleep, had he 
not possessed the strongest grounds of assurance 
that his place of refuge was secure. His persua- 
sion of safety arose, however, not from his having 
gained the tent of the Kenite, who having observed 
a strict neutrality, might not have chosen to incur 
the risk of offending the conquerors by harbouring 
an enemy of so much consequence ; but from his 
having been received into the harem, or women's 
apartment, which, in all Eastern countries, and in 
all ages, has been considered an inviolable sanc- 
tuary, into which no man or stranger must enter. 
The profound privacy that belongs to this part of 
the tent of pastoral people, the traveller Pococke 
had an opportunity of discovering, from an adven- 
ture that befell himself, when he was wandering 
among the Arabs. During part of his journey, he 
had been much molested by some straggling Arabs, 
who were bent on plundering him ; but having put 
himself under a trusty and experienced guide, he 
was led by his conductor a few miles out of the 
route, to an encampment to which his companion 
belonged. For the better security of his person and 
property, he was lodged in the tent of his guide's 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 183 

wife, who was always with him ; in consequence 
of which he was free from the intrusion of all 
strangers, as it is considered the greatest crime, 
and one which endangers the life of the offender, 
who dares, without special permission, to enter the 
chamber appropriated to Eastern females. His ad- 
mission, therefore, into such an apartment, had it 
belonged but to an ordinary person, appeared to 
the confiding mind of Sisera, a certain guaranty of 
his safety ; and especially considering the charac- 
ter and rank of Heber, whose honour the Israelites 
would not readily insult by violently intruding into 
his harem, he was warranted, to congratulate him- 
self in having reached a place where he was entire- 
ly beyond the sword of his pursuers. Nor had he 
any reason to fear treachery on the part of his 
hostess, since she had given him the strongest 
token of hospitality and friendship which Orientals 
are accustomed to render and hold sacred. Over- 
come with fatigue and thirst, he asked her for a 
draught of water, and she not only answered his 
demand, by an expression of her willingness to 
comply with it, but even opened her family gir- 
bah, or leathern bottle, in which she kept the li- 
quid which forms the principal and most grateful 
part of an Arab diet,* and presented it to him in 

* Butter, in the East, is never seen of the same con- 
sistency as ours ; and hence it is probable that the 
beverage Jael treated the wearied general with, was 
that thick butter-milk, which is so great a favourite with 
the pastoral people of the East, that it is always a 
standing dish at their meals. In those sultry climates, 
it is greatly esteemed for its refreshing coolness, The 
" lordly dish" on which it was presented to Sisera, 
6eems to have been one of the large wooden bowls 
which are the principal vessels in an 4rab tent, and 
which are so large, and, with their four iron handles, 



184 EASTERN MANNERS. 

a manner that indicated the most generous hospi- 
tality. Even according to our notions, such con- 
duct would have been looked upon as intended to 
dissipate the suspicions, and establish the confi- 
dence, of Sisera. But among the Arabs, the giving 
of a draught of water is regarded as the strongest 
assurance of receiving a stranger under their pro- 
tection; of which the following affords a graphic 
illustration. Elfi Bey had, by his extensive power 
and influence, excited the jealousy of Osman, 
another of the Mamelukes of that country, who form- 
ed the design of carrying off his rival by poison, 
and even carried matters so far as to corrupt his 
attendants, by tempting bribes, to assassinate him, 
in case he escaped the deadly potion. Elfi for a ' 
long time eluded all their machinations ; but find- 
ing himselfin constant danger, he resolved to con- 
sult his safety by flight. Having escaped into the 
desert, without money, and destitute of every thing, 
he one day entered, without knowing it, the tent 
of a Bedouin, one of his enemies, who was at that 
time absent from home. Elfi, in the hope of ob- 
taining some assistance, discovered his name to the 
wife, who, frightened at the danger he incurred, 
gave him some food and water, entreating him to 
withdraw immediately, as her husband was his im- 
placable enemy. Elfi profited by her advice, and 
retired. The Bedouin having returned, his wife 
told him the circumstance that had occurred during 
his absence. The former, full of fury, and at the 
same time animated with the characteristic gene- 
rosity of an Arab, exclaimed, " Wife, had I tbund 
him on the desert, I should certainly have killed 

so weighty, that three persons are required to lift one, 
and set it before the guests. — Giovanni Finati. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 185 

him ; but I would never have forgiven you or my- 
self after he had partaken of the hospitality of our 
tent." A very curious example of this also occurs 
in the history of the Crusades. When Guy de 
Lusignan was taken prisoner, and was conducted 
to the tent of the Saracen prince, he demanded 
water, and a bowl of that liquid, fresh from the 
fountain, was brought, which he drank in the pre- 
sence of Saladin; but, when one of his attendant 
lords made the same request, Saladin sternly denied 
it, as he did not intend to spare his life ; on the 
contrary, advancing towards him he cut off his 
head, according to the ancient Arab custom. These 
particulars, satisfactorily account for the unbroken 
tranquillity of the unsuspecting soldier. The catas- 
trophe is well known. While the unconscious 
stranger lay fast asleep, after the fatigues of the 
battle and flight, Jael took one of the large tent- 
pins, used for fastening the tent-cords to the ground, 
and with a hammer drove it into his temples and 
fastened his head to the ground.* 

Every one is familiar with the ingenious strata- 
gem of Gideon, (Judges vii.) which, by the favour 

* On this transaction, Henry, in his commentary, ob- 
serves, " Whether she designed this or no, when she in- 
vited him into her tent, does not appear. * * * It was a 
divine warrant that justified her in the doing of it; and 
therefore, since no such extraordinary commissions can 
now be pretended, it ought not in any case, to be imi- 
tated. The laws of friendship and hospitality must be 
religiously observed, and we must abhor the thought 
of betraying any whom we have invited and encouraged 
to put a confidence in us. And as to this act of Jael's, 
like tint of Ehud's, we have reason to think she was 
conscious of such a divine impulse upon her spirit to 
do it, as abundantly satisfied herself, (and it ought there- 
fore to satisfy us,) that it was well done. God's judg- 
ments are a great deep." 

16* 



186 EASTERN MANNERS. 

of heaven, was the means of achieving one of the 
most splendid victories that Israel ever gained over 
their numerous enemies. The circumstances of 
this memorable action are of so peculiar a kind, 
that they may be considered as entirely the result 
of miraculous interposition, and the whole glory of 
the affair be ascribed to that divine counsellor of 
Gideon, who directed the mode of attack, and, by 
his secret and invisible influence, struck a panic 
into the hearts of the Midianitish army. A more 
attentive examination of the story, however, will 
show, that although Gideon was assured by the 
Lord of the successful issue of the enterprise ;* and 
although the character and number of the troops to 
be engaged in it were determined by the oracle that 
called them to the field, that renowned captain was 
left to his own skill and experience to choose the 
time and the manner in which he should encounter 
the enemy. The reduction of his forces was in- 
tended as the trial of his faith ; and as the vast mul- 
titude who obeyed his summons at first comprised 
numbers unfit for a bold and daring enterprise, the 
manner in which the reduction was effected, was 
admirably calculated to distinguish the active and 
intrepid from those who were indolent and fond of 
ease. The Israelites seem to have had the same 

* The experiment by which Gideon proposed to 
satisfy himself that he had received his commission 
from God, was calculated to make a much deeper im- 
pression on the mind of an Oriental, than on ours, who 
are naturally surprised that the fleece of Gideon should 
contain such a quantity of dew in one night, as to fill a 
large bowl. But, in the East, the dews of night are so 
copious, that travellers tell us, their cloaks, when they 
have slept in the open air, were, in the morning, as 
wet as if they had been dipped in a river. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 187 

practice that still prevails among the wandering 
people of Asia and Africa, who, when, on a jour- 
ney or in haste, they come to water, do not stoop 
down with deliberation on their knees, but stand, 
bending forward only as much as is necessary to 
bring their hand in contract with the steam, and 
throw it up with such rapidity and address, that 
they do not drop a particle, although the hand 
never touches the lips. The sound made by this 
action strongly resembles the lapping of a dog ; 
and thirst is quenched in this manner far sooner 
than by any other. "I frequently attempted," 
says Mr. Campbell, " to imitate this practice, but 
never succeeded, always spilling the water on my 
clothes, or some part of my face, instead of the 
mouth ;" and another traveller, who several times 
made the same experiment with a company of 
Arabs, says, that the others were done almost before 
he had commenced. Those of the Israelites, there- 
fore, who quenched their thirst in this rapid man- 
ner, showed that they were fit for a work that re- 
quired expedition ; and the rest being dismissed, ac- 
cording to the divine direction, Gideon, with his 
select band, began his midnight march towards the 
enemy's quarters. 

It was not likely that, in his circumstances, on 
the eve of a battle that was to decide the fate of his 
country, and with a force so disproportionate to 
that opposed to him, he would commit himself and 
his little band of patriots, without a well considered 
plan of attack ; and accordingly we find, that, like 
the great men in those days, who performed the 
commonest offices, he was engaged the previous 
night in reconnoitering, with the greatest care, the 
position and strength of the hostile camp ; and it 
was not till he had obtained the most satisfactory 



188 EASTERN MANNERS. 

intelligence,* that he issued his orders for his men 
to march at the dead of night, each having a trum- 
pet in his hand, with an empty pitcher, and a lamp 
within the pitcher.")" Strange as this stratagem 
may appear to be, it was the device of a man well 
acquainted with the characier and composition of 
an Eastern army, and who was well aware that, 
countless as were the hosts of the enemy he had 
to meet, the unwieldy and heterogeneous multitude 
could never stand before a firm and determined as- 
sault ; for this army of the Midianites, as the Asia- 
tic armies have always been, seems to have been 
little more than an undisciplined mob. From these 
circumstances, we can easily account for the fre- 
quent mention that is made of stratagems in the 
military annals of Eastern nations, and of proud 
and numerous armies throwing down their arms in 
a moment, and fleeing from the enemy before a 
sword is drawn. And we are prepared to find 
many instances, in the course of Asiatic history, of 
warriors, when reduced to extremities, and con- 
tending with unequal forces, resorting to expedients 



* Gideon was further encouraged by overhearing one 
of the enemy's soldiers relate a dream to this purport, — 
" that a cake of barley-bread tumbled into the host of 
Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it, that it fell, 
and overturned it, that the tent lay along." Barley- 
bread was the meanest sort of food, and was often 
given to soldiers as a punishment; — and thus Israel, 
like a cake of barley bread, had been given as a pun- 
ishment into the hands of the Midianites, and was to be 
the means of their overthrow. 

f Earthen jars, or pitchers, were an ordinary part 
of kitchen furniture in the East, for preserving water 
or carrying corn ; and as Gideon's soldiers were a body 
of militia, who served at their own expense, it is easy 
to perceive that such pitchers would be in great num- 
bers in the army. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 189 

precisely similar to that by which Gideon accom- 
plished the defeat of the Midianites. The traveller 
Niebuhr has recorded an Arab incident, which 
shows that the device of the Israelitish captain has 
been sometimes successfully practised in modern 
times. Ahmed, an Arabian prince, contested with 
Bel Arab the imanship of Oman ; but finding him- 
self too weak at first to risk the issue of a battle, 
he threw himself, with a few soldiers, into a little 
fortress, built on a mountain, where he had de- 
posited his treasures. His rival, at the head of 
four thousand men, invested the place, and would 
have forced the new Iman to surrender, had he not 
quitted the fortress with two of his domestics, all 
three disguised like poor Arabs, who were in search 
of grass for their camels. Ahmed withdrew to a 
town a good day's journey from the besieged for- 
tress, where he was much beloved. He found no 
difficulty in collecting a few hundreds of the in- 
habitants, with whom he marched against the enemy. 
Bel Arab had placed his camp between some 
high mountains near the fortress. Ahmed having 
ordered a coloured string to be tied around the heads 
of his soldiers, that they might be distinguished 
from their enemies, sent several small detachments 
to seize the passes of the mountains. He gave 
each detachment an Arab trumpet to sound an alarm 
on all sides, as soon as the principal party should 
give the signal. Measures being thus taken, the 
Iman's son gave the signal at day-break, and the 
trumpets sounded on every side. The whole army 
of Bel Arab being thrown into a panic at finding 
all the passes guarded, and judging the number of 
the army to be proportionate to the noise they made, 
was put to the route. Bel Arab himself marched 
with a party to the place where the son of the new 



190 EASTERN MANNERS. 

Iman was keeping guard. He knew Bel Arab, 
fell upon him, killed him, and, according to the 
custom of the Arabs, cut off his head, which he car- 
ried in triumph to his father.* 

Gideon, like a disinterested patriot, declined the 
kingdom, which the gratitude of his countrymen 
offered him. But no sooner was he dead, than the 
aspiring ambition of one of his sons aimed at attain- 
ing the crown, which his public-spirited father had 
rejected, and as his condition as a younger son, 
precluded all just claims to that dignity, he scrupled 
not to imbrue his hands in the blood of his numer- 
ous brethren, with most of whom, as necessarily 
results from the wretched system of polygamy, the 
ties of affection were not very close drawn ; and 
all of whom, to the number of seventy, with one 
exception, fell victims to the guilty aims of Abime- 
lech. Judges ix. With tragedies of this horrid na- 
ture the reader of Oriental history is familiar, and 
they are well known to have been the causes of the 
frequent change and unexpected restoration of East- 
ern dynasties. Thus, for example, the king of the 
small province of Pegu, having conceived the de- 
sign of mounting the throne of the neighbouring 

* Similar stratagems might have been mentioned, had 
there been room ; as for instance one of Baharam's, the 
Varanes of Roman history, who routed an enemy far 
superior to him in numbers, by marching at dead of 
night, with a bag of stones tied to the neck of every 
horse, the rattling of which terrified his adversaries so 
as to put them to flight ; and another of an Arab chief, 
who overcame a formidable force opposed to him, by 
making his little band drag each a large branch behind 
him, so that the road had the appearance of having 
been trodden by a numerous body of men. The hope 
of the success of these artifices is founded entirely on 
the known character and composition of an Eastern 
army. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 191 

and more powerful kingdom of Ava, resolved on 
murdering the reigning prince, who was his rela- 
tive, together with all the branches of the royal 
family; the plot succeeded, and not less than four 
hundred perished in the horrid massacre. Bruce 
describes a similar catastrophe that happened to the 
royal family of Abyssinia, where the aspirant was 
a woman, and where one only, out of several hun- 
dred claimants of the crown, escaped her bloody 
fangs. By such tragic occurrences in the royal 
families of the East, has the line of succession been 
frequently disturbed, and we cannot wonder, there- 
fore, that, mingling as the Jews latterly did, so 
much with their heathen neighbours, and partaking, 
as their government came to do, so much of the 
spirit and character of Asiatic despotism, the latter 
periods of their history should abound with so many 
horrid crimes, by which, as in his case of Abime- 
lech, and in those of Jehu, Athaliah, and others, 
the throne was seized, and occupied for a time by 
the family of a bloody usurper. 

Abimelech did not long sit at ease with his ill- 
gotten power, for disaffection broke out in several 
parts of his dominions, and kept him almost inces- 
santly engaged in civil contests; none of which, 
however, deserve any notice here, except for one 
or two characteristic circumstances that occurred 
in the course of them. The city of Shechem, 
which was the first to revolt, and which he took 
by stratagem, he caused to be razed to the founda- 
tion, and sown with salt, in token of perpetual 
sterility ; a method of denouncing vengeance against 
a devoted city common among ancient conquerors, 
and which has sometimes been imitated by Eastern 
chiefs in modern times; for we are told, that the 
emperor Barbarossa, provoked by the vigorous op- 



192 EASTERN MANNERS. 

position that was made to his arms by the inhabi- 
tants of Milan, had no sooner got possession of that 
city, than he ordered it to be entirely demolished, 
and the ground ploughed up and sown with salt, 
in memory of its rebellion.* The inhabitants of 
Shechem and Thebez also took refuge from the as- 
saults of Abimelech in strong towers, which they 
kept for places of defence in the neighbourhood of 
their cities. Turrets of this kind were in very 
general use, and indeed were absolutely necessary, 
in dangerous and unsettled times, for the people of 
open and unfortified towns to fly to; and, in times 
comparatively modern, we meet with several in- 
stances of the inhabitants of besieged cities in the 
East, betaking themselves to similar modes of de- 
fence. Thus, when in the time of the Crusades, 
the people of Ascalon, taking advantage of the ab- 
sence of the army, had suddenly marched against 
Jerusalem, and committed the greatest havoc on the 
defenceless villagers around, the old men, and the 
women and children escaped by taking refuge in a 
tower. It was when he was actively employed 
w r ith his men in setting fire to the wooden tower of 
Thebez, that Abimelech met his death, which was 
occasioned by a piece of millstone ; or, as is gene- 
rally supposed, the nether or lower millstone, being 
thrown down upon him by a woman of the garri- 
son. Judges ix. 53. In situations of this kind, 
which were generally reserved for the more timid 
and defenceless part of the inhabitants, the women 
seem always to have acted a conspicuous part ; and 
it was a part of their duty, in anticipation of their 
being obliged to resort to the tower, to collect as 
. large a store of missiles as possible, so that by their 

* Modern Universal History. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 193 

means many of the besiegers were put to death. 
The celebrated Pyrrhus was killed in a manner 
precisely similar to that of Abimelech, having been 
struck on the head with a tile, thrown at him from 
the roof of a house, by an old woman, whose son 
Pyrrhus was about to kill. But, according to the 
notions of ancient military honour, that was not 

" The death a warrior should ;" 

and hence we find an ancient poet, exactly in the 
spirit of Abimelech, making one of the characters 
of his drama burst forth into these doleful strains 
upon the death of Hercules — " O ! unhappy fate, a 
woman was the cause of the death of Hercules!" 

The story of Samson (Judges xiv.) opens with 
his marriage, which like all marriages in the East, 
was entirely conducted by his parents, and was 
celebrated with all the festivities which generally 
grace these occasions. The marriage feast, as it 
was called, lasted for seven days, during which 
there was a total cessation of business, and the 
whole party who were invited to the wedding, con- 
tinued together in the enjoyment of hilarity and 
social mirth; and, as Eastern manners do not ad- 
mit of women mingling in the company of men, 
and the latter could not spend the whole period in 
the pleasures of the table, one very common and 
favourite amusement was the proposing of riddles 
and puzzling questions, the solution of which was 
often rewarded by the master of the feast with the 
costliest presents. Most of these riddles would of 
course be founded en allusions to Eastern subjects, 
and be intelligible only to the natives; and so the 
riddle proposed by Samson was founded on a cir- 
cumstance which is not of unfrequent occurrence 
in the East, where the king of the forest 
17 



194 EASTERN MANNERS. 

" Lays him gently down to rest, 
Beneath the tree that he was wont to make 
His prop in slumber; there his relics lie ; 
Bees, in the ample hollow of his skull, 
Pile their wax citadels, and store their honey." 

No kind of domestic amusement is so much ac- 
cording to the taste of Orientals as this, which 
can be traced up to a higher antiquity than the days 
of Samson, and skill in which has always been con- 
sidered by them a mark of liberal education ; inso- 
much, that we meet with instances of the greatest 
men in the East engaging in this pastime, and even 
the wise king of Israel, if we are to credit Josephus, 
was in the habit of relieving his graver cares by 
maintaining a correspondence on these agreeable 
trifles with the king of Tyre. The company, if 
unable to solve the riddle, always incurred a forfeit 
equal to the reward promised by the propounder 
of it, as was done at the nuptial festival of Samson, 
Sometimes, however, the forfeits were of a more 
serious description, as appears from the story of 
the celebrated Indian princess Sinthamanni, who 
had acquired the highest renown for her skill in 
enigmas, and who had determined to give her hand 
to none who could not explain all her riddles; 
while those who failed were to forfeit their lives. 
Many rash competitors sacrificed themselves to the 
hard conditions, till at length Veeramaran appeared, 
solved the whole stock of the princess's puzzles, 
and won both her hand and her throne. 

The misunderstandings between Samson and his 
Philistine connexions, (Judges xv.) gave rise, on the 
part of that hero, on one occasion, to an exploit of 
so singular a kind, that it is apt to strike the reader 
as a species of wanton and extravagant mischief — 
the collection of three hundred foxes, or rather 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 195 

jackals, which go in large herds, and, being very 
numerous in Eastern countries, can be easily caught 
in nets, and to whose tails he attached flaming 
brands, and set them adrift over the country. 
Strange as it may appear, this was no uncommon 
method of taking revenge, as we learn from many 
ancient authors, who mention several instances of 
birds and beasts being made, in this way, the minis- 
ters of destruction ; nor could there be a more effec- 
tual one, for, driven by fear and pain in every 
possible direction, the unfortunate creatures would 
leave not a field exempt from the danger; and of 
the rapidity and extent of the damage that would 
thus be committed, an idea may be easily formed, 
by recollecting that the parched and sultry charac- 
ter of the climate would make every production of 
the soil become an easy prey to the flames. That 
. it was a frequent practice for turbulent people to 
destroy in this manner, the property of those with 
whom they were at variance, appears, from several 
incidents recorded in sacred history, as well as 
from the law of Moses already referred to. 

The unmanly affection which this hero cherished 
for his second wife proved his ruin. That treacher- 
ous woman, who kept up a secret correspondence 
with her husband's enemies, practised every femi- 
nine art to steal from him the secret of his preter- 
natural strength ; and a more humiliating, and at 
the same time ludicrous scene, can scarcely be 
conceived, than that of the athletic champion 
stretched at full length on the floor, with his head 
reclining on the lap of his fondling wife. Nothing, 
however, is more common than to see a full grown 
son or a husband asleep on his mother's or wife's 
knees; and the plan, as Roberts informs us, is as 
follows : "The female sits cross-les^ed on the car- 



196 EASTERN MANNERS. 

pet or mat, and the man, having laid himself down, 
puts his head on her lap, and she sings, and soothes 
him to sleep."* 

No sooner had Sampson, (Judges xvi.) in an evil 
hour, been prevailed on, by the treacherous caresses 
of his wife, to trust her with his secret, than he was 
betrayed into the hands of his enemies, who heaped 
upon him every species of indignity; for, not con- 
tent with depriving him of his liberty, their ven- 
geance pursued him even within the walls of the 
prison; and, in order to reduce him to the lowest 
point of humiliation, they set him to grind corn, 
not for his own use, degrading as even that would 
have been to a person of his rank and character, 
but for the general use of the jail, and as this was 
an office of the most laborious nature, and one that 
was performed only by the meanest female slaves, 
they intended, by imposing this task upon him, to . 
make him an object of derision and merriment to 
the vilest malefactor. But wanton insolence was 
not the only means by which the masters of Sam- 
son expressed their triumph over the fallen hero, 
for, dreading lest if his hair should grow again, he 
might surprise them with some unexpected feats of 
strength, and repay, with dreadful retribution, the 
injuries he had sustained, they determined to pre- 
vent the possibility of his ever exercising hjs power 
to their hurt, by depriving him of his sight, a com- 
mon and approved mode of treating dangerous 

* One of the evasive answers he gave his wife was, 
that if " bound with seven green withes, that were 
never dried, he would be weak and like other men." 
Ropes made of slender twigs, when in a green state, 
are stronger than any other ropes that are made in the 
country. " I once saw," says Roberts, " a tremendous 
elephant, which had just been caught, bound with a 
rope of green withes.' ' 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 197 

prisoners in the East; and which is done in a great 
variety of ways ; by holding a red-hot iron before 
the eyes of the unfortunate captive till the moisture 
is entirely dried up ; by piercing the eye-balls with 
a needle ; by forcing them out of the socket by the 
point of a dagger; by sewing or sealing up the eye- 
lids, or rubbing them over with an application of 
camphor, which has the effect of destroying the 
power of vision. Such are the various ways in 
which this truly Oriental punishment has been in- 
flicted from time immemorial, and it is probable 
that it was somewhat in this manner that the ven- 
geance of the Philistines was exercised on the un- 
fortunate champion of Israel, his life being spared 
only that he might contribute the more to the bar- 
barous exultation of his masters. For, in common 
wiih many heathen nations, they were wont, on 
the return of their solemn religious festivals, to 
bring forth their prisoners of war from their places 
of confinement and slavery, and to heap every spe- 
cies of indignity upon them, while they offered up 
their grateful tribute to the gods, by whose propi- 
tious aid they had obtained their triumph over their 
enemies. It was not, indeed, till the festivity held 
in honour of Dagori had been far advanced, and the 
hearts of his votaries were inflamed with wine, that 
they sought for merriment, by the production of 
the helpless and mutilated leader of their enemies. 
Late, however, though it was, in the course of their 
revelry, ere this proposal was made, it must not be 
considered, on that account, as only the happy 
thought of the moment, which was no sooner men- 
tioned than it was met by shouts of approval ; but, 
as a customary part of the rejoicings on such occa- 
sions, and purposely delayed till the assembled de- 
votees had reached that pitch of bacchanalian riot 
17* 



198 EASTERN MANNERS. 

which was considered necessary to enable them to 
express, in adequate terms, their obligations to the 
tutelary deity of their country. The barbarous ex- 
cesses to which the ancient pagans went at this 
period of their sacred festivals, and the cruel ser- 
vices they exacted of their captives, are recorded 
by many historians. They were dragged into the 
middle of the circle; by one they were forced to 
sing, by another to dance, by some they were 
beaten till they jumped with all the alacrity of 
which they were capable, and by others they were 
placed in all the most grotesque attitudes, and made 
to go through all the most ridiculous manoeuvres 
that the absurd fancy of their tormentors could sug- 
gest. It was in this way that the Philistines treat- 
ed Samson, when they brought him into the amphi- 
theatre in which they had assembled to celebrate 
the rites of their god. Exulting over the hapless 
condition of the man, whose very name had once 
been a terror to them, they took advantage of his 
blindness to urge him to exhibit his gigantic stature 
and muscular strength in all the various ways that 
could gratify a mob of intoxicated barbarians. Their 
triumph over the illustrious captive, however, as is 
well known to the reader of the Bible, was brought 
to a sudden and fatal end ; and that occurrence is 
not the least difficult, among the extraordinary in- 
cidents of Samson's history, to be understood by 
those whose minds, familiar with the compact and 
massy structures of modern times, startle, with in- 
credulous wonder, at the story of the overthrow of 
an immense edifice, containing some thousands of 
spectators, by the unassisted efforts of a single man. 
No doubt the feat was owing to the miraculous 
energy with which Samson was endowed on that 
occasion ; but, in the description given by the his- 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 199 

torian of the temple of Dagon, which is said to have 
rested on two pillars, we trace a resemblance to 
Ihose spacious and open amphitheatres which are 
still to be found in many Eastern countries. In the 
middle of such buildings, which consist wholly of 
wood, there are two large beams, on which the 
whole weight of the structure lies, and these beams 
are supported by two pillars placed almost close to 
each other, so that when these are unsettled or dis- 
placed, the whole pile must tumble to the ground. 
The standing place for the spectators is a wooden 
floor resting upon these pillars, and rising in the 
form of an inclined plain, so as to enable all to 
have a view of the area in the centre where the 
exhibitions are made. Dr. Shaw, during his resi- 
dence at Algiers, frequently saw great multitudes 
of the inhabitants of that city assembled at a public 
entertainment of a wooden edifice of this descrip- 
tion, which, both by its structure and fragility, for- 
cibly reminded the traveller of that ancient temple 
where the blind Samson was exhibited, and of 
which he displaced the foundations, burying him- 
self and his tormentors in the mighty ruin. 

From these scenes of war and bloodshed, the 
reader is relieved by the beautiful episode of Ruth, 
which transports him to a peaceful pastoral scene, 
and introduces him to the company of simple and 
virtuous country people, engaged in the toils and 
festivities of barley harvest, which takes place at 
the beginning of spring. The suspension of work, 
and the retiring of the reapers to a tent during the 
heat of the day ; their simple repast, consisting of 
corn, parched or burnt on the fire, and of bread, 
soaked with the hand, in a mixture of vinegar or 
juice of fruits and oil; the freedom allowed the 
reapers ; the grain not built up into stacks, but 



200 EASTERN MANNERS. 

thrown together in a loose heap on the threshing- 
floor, immediately after it is reaped ; the winnow- 
ing of it at night to catch the breeze ; the sleeping 
of the servants, and of Boaz himself, on the thresh- 
ing-floor — are circumstances all of them beautifully 
descriptive of an Oriental harvest. Nor is the ap- 
plication of Ruth to her opulent relative for his pro- 
tection less characteristic. It is the universal cu.° 
torn for servants or dependents to sleep at the feet 
of their master; and for those who have a favour 
to solicit, to repair to the house of their patron and 
sleep all night in his court or with their head at his 
door ; so that the discovery of a person in that situa- 
tion points him out to be a suppliant before he has had 
time to detail his wants. Such was the attitude which 
Ruth assumed when she went at night to the open 
threshing-floor, where Boaz was sleeping ; and rest- 
ing, as the Orientals do at night, in the same clothes 
they wear during the day, with their outer cloak 
or hylce, wrapped round them as a covering, there 
was no indelicacy in a stranger and a woman put- 
ting the extremity of this cloak over her head, 
which, according to Eastern manners, is the sym- 
bol of protection. Equally in unison with Eastern 
manners are the two circumstances connected with 
the settlement of Ruth's second marriage. Boaz, 
in order to make arrangements with the relative on 
whom the duty of marrying the widow, according 
to the law of Moses, devolved, Went to the gate of 
the city, by which, on this and many similar occa- 
sions, is meant not the entrance into the town, but 
a place of public resort, situated on the wall, and 
consisting of an open unwalled building, where jus- 
tice was administered, sales were made, and all 
sorts of business transacted. In this place, not 
only proper witnesses would be obtained, but the 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 201 

public authorities would be present, before whom 
Boaz would make a settlement in Ruth's favour, 
and after the necessary preliminaries had been 
agreed to, the transaction was closed by the pulling 
off the shoe, a custom which, whatever was the 
origin of it, seems to have been designed as a con- 
firmation, or seal of the treaty. 

The most memorable event that happened to the 
Israelites, (1 Sam. iv.) during the administration 
of Eli, the successor of Samson, was the over- 
throw of their forces by the Philistines at Aphek, 
where, among other severe losses, they had to 
mourn the fate of the ark of God, which fell into 
the hands of the conquerors, and being carried by 
them into their own country, was placed, accord- 
ing to the usual custom of ancient nations, in the 
temple of Dagon, as a trophy of the power of their 
tutelary deity. To check the presumption of these 
proud idolaters, and to show them, that the indig- 
nities done to the God of Israel, though suffered as 
a rebuke and punishment of his people's apostasy, 
were not the consequences of imbecility or surprise 
on his part, it was necessary that the infidel Philis- 
tines should receive some striking proof of the un- 
tarnished honours and invincible power of Israel's 
God, and that this proof should be of a kind that 
would come home at once to their understandings 
and iheir hearts. Such was the design of that omi- 
nous occurrence, which struck terror and dismay 
into the heart of every Philistine on their behold- 
ing, on the second morning after they had placed the 
sacred deposit of the ark in the temple of their god, 
the image of their venerated idol prostrate on the 
ground — his head and both the palms of his hands 
dismembered and lying in fragments on the thres- 
hold. The mutilation of the image, and that too 



202 EASTERN MANNERS. 

in the parts which were deemed of the greatest im- 
portance, both as to symmetry and power, showed 
that, according to the ideas of all heathen people 
the spirit of their god no longer animated the im 
perfect statue; and he had apparently fled, as if 
appalled, at the presence of a greater than himself. 
That the divinity abandons every figure or image 
which is any way mutilated or broken, is a senti- 
ment which the heathen have entertained in all 
ages; and that the same persuasion still exists in 
countries where idolatry prevails, appears from the 
authentic testimony of many travellers. Dr. Bu- 
chanan mentions "that a Polygar chief, about two 
hundred and fifty years before, had been directed by 
the god Ganesa to search for treasures under a cer- 
tain image, and to erect temples and reservoirs with 
whatever money he should find. The treasures 
were accordingly found, and applied as directed ; 
the image from under which the treasure had been 
taken was shown the traveller, who was surprised 
at finding it lying at one of the gates in a state of 
total and dishonoured neglect. On asking the rea- 
son why the people allowed their benefactor to re- 
main in such a plight, he was informed that the 
finger of the image having been broken, the divinity 
had deserted it; for no mutilated image is consid- 
ered as habitable by a god." This anecdote serves 
to illustrate the universal prevalence of the belief 
among the heathen, that the continuance of their 
gods among them is intimately connected with the 
perfect and entire state of their images ; and to 
show that the incontestable supremacy of the God 
of Israel could have been brought home to the 
minds of the Philistines by no means so intelligi- 
ble and impressive as that action which betrayed 
the terror and led to the flight of their national deity. 



LIFE IN CANAATf. 203 

There is another circumstance in the account of 
the demolition of Dagon's image, which, though 
minute, had an important meaning in the minds of 
his idolatrous worshippers. The fragments of his 
dismembered statue did not lie in the inner recess 
of the temple where it stood, but, as if thrown with 
violence, were all strewed upon the threshold — 
and that this position of the mutilated relics was 
chosen, not without some important reason, appears 
from a passage in the history of India, which bears 
a striking resemblance to some of the circumstances 
recorded of Dagon. The historian, speaking of the 
destruction of the idol in the temple at Sumnaut, 
says that fragments of the demolished idol were 
distributed to the several mosques of Mecca, Me- 
dina, and Gazna, to be thrown at the threshold of 
their gates, and trampled upon by devout and zeal- 
ous Mussulmans. As in this instance the disper- 
sion of the broken remains on the threshold, indi- 
cated the complete triumph of those who had van- 
quished the idols, so, in the case of Dagon, the situ- 
ation of the fragments of his statue at the entrance 
of the temple was a token of his complete discom- 
fiture, and his submission to the power that had 
taken possession of his place. 

Notwithstanding the severe lesson the Philis- 
tines had received of the terrible power that inha- 
bited the ark, (1 Sam. vi.) their minds were too 
flushed with the memory of their glorious and un- 
disputed victory at Aphek, to yield to the full im- 
pression which the ignominious treatment of Dagon 
was calculated to produce; and, accordingly, their 
chiefs evinced the greatest anxiety to retain the 
symbol of Hebrew worship among them, as a 
trophy of the victorious arms of their country. 
This idea was, no doubt, secretly overruled, by the 



204 EASTERN MANNERS. 

providence of God, for the purpose of alarming that 
infatuated people into an acknowledgment of his 
power, by the calamities that uniformly desolated 
the places to which the ark was removed ; and of 
so effectually humbling the pride of the idolaters, 
that they would be forced to restore it, with every 
mark of honour, to the custody of the chosen 
people. They accordingly transported the ark of 
God from Ashdod to Gath, and from Gath to 
Ekron; but, instead of the universal acclamations 
with which it might be expected the spoils of the 
enemy would be greeted by the people, nothing 
was heard but the doleful accents of grief and dis- 
may on account of the disasters that signalized the 
arrival of the dreaded symbol of the presence of the 
God of Israel. For, besides a loathsome pestilence 
that preyed upon their bodies, their land was over- 
run by a prodigious swarm of mice, the severity 
and extent of whose ravages have been sometimes 
so great in various countries of the East, that the 
fields have been made a desolate waste, and the 
terrified inhabitants, deprived of every production of 
the earth, have been compelled to evacuate the 
territory, and betake themselves to another land. 
Instances of such a calamity are not unknown in 
the modern history of Palestine. About the com- 
mencement of the twelfth century, innumerable 
swarms of mice, during four successive years, so 
completely ravaged the country, as to occasion 
almost a total failure of the necessaries of life ; and 
so great and general was the distress of the people, 
that a day of humiliation was held at Naplouse for 
the reformation of manners, and to invoke the 
mercy of the Almighty, who had been provoked 
by their sins to inflict upon them such terrible 
judgments. Not less severe and wide-spread seems 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 205 

io have been the distress of the ancient Philistines, 
when their country was exposed to the same for- 
midable scourge; and with such terrible conse- 
quences was it followed, that, notwithstanding the 
blinding influence of idolatry, and the triumph they 
seemed to have gained over the God of Israel, even 
their blinded minds were constrained to regard it as 
something more than an ordinary calamity — a judg- 
ment directly inflicted by the hand of an indignant 
Deity. To propitiate his power, therefore, became, 
their obvious and urgent duty; and, in compliance 
with the advice of their priests and diviners, they 
dismissed the ark, as the cause of all their distresses, 
to return to its own land, and among its own peo- 
ple, in such circumstances as displayed, in a re- 
markable manner, the presence and power of the 
living God who inhabited it.* The restoration of 
the ark to liberty, however, was not the only means 
which the Philistines adopted to appease the in- 
censed Divinity of the Hebrews. They placed on 
the cart along with it, a coffer, containing images 
of gold, representing the animals and the bodily in- 
fliction with which they had been plagued. That 
they were guided by their own ideas of propitiatory 
worship, in making so strange an oblation, there 
seems no reason to doubt, more especially as their 
sentiments bear a strong resemblance to those of 
other idolatrous nations, with whom it has been an 
invariable practice to consecrate to the deity they 

* The cart on which the Philistines placed the ark 
was a new one, and was drawn by two milch kine, on 
which there had been no yoke. Any vessel, or any 
animal, which had been used for a common purpose, 
was considered to be improper to be employed in di- 
vine service. The heathen were very particular and 
Bcrupulous in this respect. 
18 



206 EASTERN MANNERS. 

wish to acknowledge, representations of the parti- 
cular objects for which they expressed their thanks- 
giving, or from which they implored deliverance. 
Thus, in some of the islands of the South Seas, re- 
cently converted from heathenism, there were found 
suspended in the temples of their idols, votive offer- 
ings, containing, in one place, the figure of a man 
who was in the last stage of a dropsy, and in an- 
other, that of the eyes of a person who had been 
threatened with the loss of sight ; and that the same 
custom prevails among the Indians, appears from 
the testimony of Tavernier, who states, that when 
any individual is overtaken with disease, he repairs, 
or is carried to the pagoda, for the removal of his 
disorder, and that, along with him, he brings an 
image of the part affected, made either of gold, 
silver or copper, as his circumstances admit of. Of 
this figure he makes an offering at the shrine of his 
god, and then departs with every demonstration of 
joy. A more recent writer on the superstitions of 
the Hindoos, informs us, that in the temple of Kat- 
taragam, which is famous, in all parts of the East, 
for the healing power of the deity there, pilgrims 
may be found at its shrine, suffering under every 
form of disease, and images of silver presented by 
them, in hope of recovery. Seven of these Mr. 
Roberts had in his possession ; the first three of 
which were representatives of an infant, a boy, and 
an old man, deposited there, probably, in conse- 
quence of vows, that silver images of these respec- 
tive persons would be offered, should their health 
be restored ; and the others were images of eyes, 
ears, noses, and even of a spear, by which some 
enemy had been killed, and all of which had been 
presented, from the same views, as offerings to the 
god. Lander, too, informs us that he saw little 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 207 

wooden figures of children carried on their heads 
by mothers, who made these rude imitations of 
them, in order to deposit them in the temples of 
their gods. According to this custom, then, which 
seems to be common to all heathen people, the 
conduct of the Philistines is to be explained, when 
they sent, with the most solemn ceremony, the 
figures of the mice and the emerods; the one 
being the form of the boils that disfigured their 
persons, and the other that of the noxious vermin 
that laid waste their land. These were offered as 
an acknowledgment, at once, that Jehovah was the 
cause of inflicting this double calamity upon them, 
and that it was the same power alone that could 
bring them deliverance. 

The occasion (1 Sam ix.) on which Saul was 
first introduced to the venerable prophet of Israel, 
though apparently owing to an accidental circum- 
stance, was when he was sent on an errand, which 
the habits of Eastern shepherds render a very com- 
mon occurrence. Their larger cattle, after being 
branded with their owner's mark, are allowed to go 
at large at certain seasons of the year, in conse- 
quence of which, as they often wander to a great 
distance, their keepers are obliged, at the end of 
that period, to go in search of them. The shep- 
herds of the East are wonderfully acute in dis- 
covering the traces of their strayed cattle; their 
senses of hearing and vision being in continual ex- 
ercise, improve to a degree that is almost incredi- 
ble, as they will travel over • ten or twenty miles, 
and distinguish, with astonishing sagacity, the foot- 
steps of their cattle from among hundreds of others 
that may have crossed their path. They can tell 
whether the impression be a distant or recent one; 
and, as they know, by observing the peculiarities of 



208 EASTERN MANNERS. 

their formation, the foot-marks of their neighbours, 
cattle as well as their own, they are often led to dis- 
cover the situation of their lost property in the flocks 
with which they mny have mingled. Instances 
are told of cattle being traced by this means at the 
distance of five or six days' journey. This habit 
of Oriental shepherds bears so striking an analogy 
to the situation of Saul, when he was in quest of 
his father's asses, as to leave little doubt but the 
shepherds of Israel followed the same practice in 
regard to the larger animals that composed their 
flocks. In the account given of the occasion that 
led to this memorable interview between the pro- 
phet and the young man who was to wear the 
crown of Israel, there is another circumstance men- 
tioned, which is strikingly characteristic of Orien- 
tal manners. After he and his attendants had un- 
successfully wandered over a large tract of the 
neighbouring country, and spent so long a time in 
searching for his father's asses, that they despaired 
of finding them, and thought of bending their steps 
homeward, it occurred to the servant, that as they 
were then in the city where Samuel usually resided, 
the gifted seer might be able to render them some 
assistance in recovering their lost property. Wheth- 
er they entertained right notions of the dignity of 
the prophetical character, or whether, as is most 
probable, they purposed to consult Samuel, in the 
same credulous spirit in which the heathen apply 
to their diviners, whom they always consult in 
cases of difficulty, it is of no consequence here to 
inquire; but, having resolved to ask his opinion as 
to the course they should follow, they became sud- 
denly perplexed and disheartened, on discovering 
that their whole stock of provisions was exhausted, 
and that they could produce nothing that promised 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 209 

to be an acceptable present to the venerable man of 
God. But we greatly mistake the cause of their 
distress, if we imagine that it arose from their being 
unable to pay the usual fee for consultation with 
the holy man. There is no evidence whatever 
that the prophets were in the habit of taking 
money for the prediction of future, or the discovery 
of unknown events ; and the only admissible ground 
on which we can account for the dilemma to which 
Saul and his servant found themselves reduced, is 
to suppose it to have been occasioned by their ina- 
bility to conform to that universal custom of the 
East, which makes it a want of respect for any one 
to approach the presence of a superior, without a 
present of some kind in his hand, however trifling 
it may be in value. From the earliest times, down 
to the present day, presents have formed an im- 
portant article in carrying on social intercourse in 
the East; and so much are they regarded as an 
established branch of good manners, that no one 
ever thinks of going into the presence of a friend 
or equal, without the customary token of politeness 
and respect. But more especially are they con- 
sidered to be indispensable from an inferior to a 
person of high rank or official station ; in waiting 
upon whom, should a stranger presume to appear 
unaccompanied with some offering to propitiate 
the man of power, it would be deemed an unpar- 
donable omission of the usual expression of civility. 
" We this morning," says Joliffe, " made a fruit- 
less effort to gain admission to the citadel of An- 
tioch. Our ill success is to be ascribed to our hav- 
ing neglected to propitiate the governor, an omis- 
sion which, in this country, carries with it univer- 
sally its own punishment. The custom of giving 
presents is of great antiquity, and every departure 
18* 



210 EASTERN MANNERS. 

from so venerable a practice is viewea as an affront 
to the official dignity of the individual in power. 
In short, when a favour is solicited, or an interview 
desired, a present is always necessary to prepare the 
way." As it is the intention of the giver that is 
chiefly looked to, it is generally of no great conse- 
quence what is the nature and value of the article 
presented. One traveller mentions a present of 
fifty radishes. Mr. Bruce, who had agreed to take 
a poor sick Arab with him a considerable distance, 
was presented by the invalid with a dirty rag con- 
taining ten dates. Lander gave, on two occasions 
successively, a penny Jew's harp, and a farthing 
whistle ; and a curious anecdote is told of a coun- 
tryman, who, having met Artaxerxes, king of Per- 
sia, without having any thing by which, according 
to the Oriental custom, he could testify his respect 
for his sovereign, ran immediately to the adjacent 
stream, filled both his hands with water, and offer- 
ed it to his prince. 

It was the knowledge of this established rule of 
good manners, and not their inability to meet the 
demands of a diviner, that occasioned the mutual 
perplexity of Saul and his servant, when they were 
on their way to the residence of Samuel, and found 
that they could not give the venerable prophet the 
customary token of respect. Thinking that the pro- 
phet would perceive, from their toil-worn appear- 
ance, and the emptiness of their leathern bags, that 
they were not in a situation to present him with 
any thing valuable, they determined on putting into 
his hands " the fourth part of a shekel of silver."* 
When it is recollected that the seer they were going 
ro consult, held at that time the office of chief magis- 

* About the eighth part of a dollar. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 211 

trate in Israel, and, moreover, that he was a pro- 
phet of the Lord, who would never have conde- 
scended to act the part of a mercenary fortune-teller, 
it will be readily acknowledged that the paltry sum 
they gave, could never have been intended as a 
bribe to purchase the services of the far-famed sage, 
and that it was nothing more nor less than the 
tribute of respect which, according to the imme- 
morial usages of the East, is expected from an in- 
ferioi or a stranger, when he is introduced into the 
presence of a superior. 

From the marked respect which Samuel paid to 
the young stranger, (1 Sam. x.) the cordial wel- 
come he gave to him, his entertaining him with a 
delicacy which is reserved always for persons of 
the highest distinction, and the honourable place 
he assigned to that individual among the respecta- 
ble guests he had invited to his table, we are war- 
ranted to conclude that he would be wanting, dur- 
ing the rest of Saul's abode with him, in none of 
these polite attentions which Orientals are accus- 
tomed to render ; particularly that he should select 
the best and most elegant part of his house for the 
accommodation of a person who, he knew, was 
destined to a royal fortune ; — and yet we find that 
when the prophet wished to commune with his fu- 
ture sovereign, he called him to the top of the 
house. A little acquaintance with the domestic 
manners of the people of the East will show, that, 
instead of being, as with us, the most neglected and 
meanest part of the house, the top, where are the 
largest and principal apartments, is there furnished 
in the greatest elegance ; and that, whenever the 
Orientals wish to do honour to their guests, they 
entertain them in the upper portion of their dwel- 
ling. In the summer season the roof, which is 



212 EASTERN MANNERS. 

bounded by a railing, is the place of most frequent 
and agreeable resort; and as shade is always an 
article of great luxury during the violent heats of 
that period, the greatest care is taken to render the 
flat tops of the houses capable of affording the en- 
joyment of the refreshing breeze. Strewed with 
a thick layer of earth, which is sown with a variety 
of herbs and fruits, they present the appearance of 
rich and beautiful gardens, interspersed here and 
there with shrubs of evergreen, whose luxuriant 
foliage catches the zephyrs as they fly, and branches 
of which, being artfully formed into arbours, afford 
a delightful bovver, in which to take ti repast, or to 
enjoy repose. Amid these cool retreats, the pant- 
ing native longs to spend his hours of leisure and 
pastime, and reluctant, as it were, to leave a scene 
where he finds so grateful a screen from the fierce 
influence of the sun, he spreads at night his mat- 
tress and his coverlet, which are all the materials 
he requires for a bed, on the open eminence where 
he walks and dines during the day. The books of 
modern travellers abound with innumerable exam- 
ples of persons being entertained in this manner, 
who had received from their hosts every expres- 
sion of an anxious desire to treat them with respect. 
During the residence of Pococke at Tiberias in 
Galilee, he was received by the Sheik's steward 
(the Sheik himself having a great company, so that 
he could not accommodate the traveller in his own 
house, but showing him one of the highest marks 
of respect which an Oriental can give, by sending 
him provisions from his own kitchen,) and enter- 
tained on the top of the house, which was chosen 
for coolness. On the approach of night, a place 
was prepared for him there also, in a sort of cham- 
ber about eight feet square, formed of wicker work, 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 213 

which had no door, and of which there were seve- 
ral, so that many of the guests were accommodated 
in like manner. In the same way was Carne ac- 
commodated in the house of Mr. Salt, British con- 
sul at Cairo, and Morier when he was in the train 
of the British Ambassador to Persia. Both of them 
took great delight to rise by night and walk about 
in the brilliant moonlight, which has there the ap- 
pearance of a tranquil and beautiful day ; and, while 
not a sound was heard in the wide capital, to feast 
their imaginations with the Oriental scene — with 
looking around on the terraces of other dwellings, 
on which numbers of the inhabitants lay buried in 
sleep. 

The elevation of Saul to the throne was the sig- 
nal for Samuel's retiring into private life, (1 Sam. 
xv. 32,) and he seems never to have come forth to 
perform any public duty afterwards, except when 
the unconstitutional proceedings of that wayward 
sovereign demanded his interference ; on which oc- 
casion he assumed the authority, not as formerly, 
of a civil magistrate, but of an extraordinary pro- 
phet. The ill-timed and criminal lenity shown to- 
wards Agag, was one of those occurrences which 
led him to remonstrate with the royal transgressor, 
and while he boldly and directly exposed the hei- 
nousness of Saul's guilt in that transaction, he or- 
dered, by virtue of his prophetic office, and in the 
presence of his humbled monarch, the prisoner to 
be brought forth, and with his own hands executed 
the sentence of death upon him. That a person of 
his rank and condition should stoop to an employ- 
ment, which, in our minds, is invariably associated 
with the most ignoble and revolting ideas, and that 
too, not in the haste of indignant zeal, but in the 
most cool and collected manner, must appear sur- 



214 EASTERN MANNERS. 

prising to those who are not aware that in ancient 
times, it was as customary for great men in the East 
to do execution upon criminals, as it is usual for them 
among us to pronounce sentence. And hence, we 
find this duty so often mentioned in sacred history, 
as performed by persons high in authority, not only 
by Samuel, on the occasion referred to, but by Gid- 
eon and Doeg, and by an officer that went by the 
name of the captain of the king's guard, which pro- 
perly means the executioner of sentences of death. 
In modern times, the same ideas of respectability 
continue to be attached to this office all over the 
East; for Ali Bey tells us, that when he was at 
the court of the Emperor of Morocco, he found a 
nobleman of great power, who had the startling 
name of the chief poisoner. Morier relates, lhat 
when he was in Persia, the executioner of the law 
was the chief commander of the cavalry ; Lander, 
that at an African court the chief eunuch was also 
chief executioner ; and another traveller states, that 
in all the Eastern regions he visited, the individuals 
who were appointed to that disagreeable task, were 
distinguished for their wealth and influence; and 
that their office was looked upon as honourable. 
Whatever be the origin of such ideas — whether 
they have sprung from merely adventitious circum- 
stances, or are founded on the principle, that every 
office should be held in esteem that contributes to 
the benefit of society, their universal prevalence, 
even in the present day, is a sufficient proof that 
Samuel did nothing inconsistent with the dignity of 
his character, when he proceeded, with his own 
hands, to put to death the king of the Amalekites. 
Nor was the mode of execution, cruel and horrid 
as it appears, less becoming the character of one 
whose whole life had been spent in the impartial 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 215 

administration of justice; for although it was not a 
punishment known and practised in Judea, yet it 
was one which the ruthless barbarian who had fallen 
into the hands of the Israelites had often inflicted 
on such Hebrews as had been so unfortunate as to 
become his prisoners; and it was therefore a jus* 
act of retribution, dictated by the command of God 
himself, that the savage chief should meet his end 
in the same merciless manner in which he had 
made " so many mothers in Israel childless." (X 
this species of punishment, which is by no means 
rare in Eastern countries, two recent examples have 
occurred. The first is mentioned by Bruce, who 
says, that "as he was coming across the market- 
place, he saw Za Mariam, the Ra's door-keeper, 
with three men bound, one of whom he hacked to 
pieces in his presence; and upon seeing him run- 
ning across the place, called out to him to stay till 
he should despatch the other two, for he wanted to 
speak with him, as if he had been engaged in ordi- 
nary business." The other example is related by 
Captain Light, who, in giving an account of Djez- 
zar Pacha, (the chief who so successfully resisted 
Bonaparte at Acre in 1801,) says, "that he had 
reason to suspect fraud in the conduct of some of 
the officers of his seraglio ; and as he could not dis- 
cover the offenders, he ordered between fifty and 
sixty of them to be seized, stripped naked, and laid 
on the ground ; and to each placed a couple of Ja- 
nissaries, who were commanded to hew them in 
pieces with their swords." 



216 EASTERN MANNERS. 



CHAPTER VI. 



LIFE IN CANAAN-CONTINUED. 

Saul's war summons — David's combat with Goliath — cutting off the 
head of an enemy — praises of soldiers sung by women — Jonathan 
presenting David with his armour — present of a prince's dress a 
great honour — David conceals himself in his wife's apartment — 
Eastern beds — massacre of priests by Doeg — Abigail's method of 
appeasing David — he marries Abigail— death of Saul and his sons, 
and treatment of their remains — fate of the regicide — elegy — mur- 
der of Ishbosheth — beard held in great estimation — modern instances 
of punisbing insults to it, similar to David's — story of Uriah — treat- 
ment — conspiracy of Absalom — great distress of the king — conduct 
of Sliimei— of Mephiboslieth— of Absalom to his father's concubinea 
— hiding place of messengers— manner of Absalom's death — place 
where the king waited the news of the battle — place of administering 
justice — reverence due to a king — rare honour of using any thing 
belonging to him — Jeroboam's queen, disguised as a country woman, 
carries a present to Abijah — presents often refused — present of an 
Arab prince's family 

Scarcely was Saul seated on the throne, (1 Sam, 
xi.) when his talents for the government and pro- 
tection of a great people were successfully tried, on 
the occasion of a sudden irruption into the frontiers 
of his kingdom, by a horde of Ammonites under 
Nahash. Unable to contend against the over- 
whelming numbers of the enemy, and trembling 
under the severe terms which the savage conqueror 
proposed for their surrender, the inhabitants of 
Jabesh Gilead applied, in their emergency, to their 
young king, who, with the greatest promptitude and 
energy, took means for levying the whole popula- 
tion of Israel capable of bearing arms, and, whom 
the royal mandate could reach, during the brief 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 217 

space that the respite was to last. He took a yoke 
of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them 
throughout all the coast of Israel, by the hands of 
messengers, saying, "whosoever cometh not forth 
after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to 
his oxen ; and a great fear fell on the people, and 
they came out with one consent." This war-sum- 
mons, though issued for the first time on this occa- 
sion, by the formidable command of a king, was 
the mode that had long been in use for calling the 
tribes of Israel to arms; and to a people, whose 
whole property and means of subsistence consisted 
in their cattle, there could not be a more effectual 
appeal, than that which the bloody symbol carried 
with it, and the certain destruction and infamy 
which was the penalty of disobedience. And it 
affords a striking instance of the implicit obedience 
which the Asiatics have, in all ages, rendered to 
the call of their sovereigns, that the people of Is- 
rael, on the mere sight of those pieces of flesh 
which the king had distributed, repaired with as- 
tonishing celerity to the place of rendezvous which 
he had appointed. Traces of the same practice 
have been found in many other parts of the East, 
where it was either observed, precisely in the same 
way as among the Hebrews, or with some slight 
variations, as among the ancient Scythians; with 
whom it was customary, in seeking to avenge pub- 
lic or private injuries, for the parties most deeply 
concerned to sacrifice an ox; and having cut it into 
pieces, to expose it to public view, so that all who 
chose to take part in the injury which had been 
committed, took up a piece of the ox, and swore to 
give all the aid in their power, in procuring satis 
faction from the offenders. Sometimes, however* 
the same object is attained without the slaughter of 
19 



218 EASTERN MANNERS. 

an ox, or of any animal whatever;* and where the 
power of the sovereign is so absolute, and the sub- 
mission of their subjects so devoted, it is of little 
consequence what signal of authority they employ, 
as the production of any thing known to belong to 
them, as a token' of their will, is instantly obeyed. 

At the beginning of the war with the Philistines, 
in Saul's reign, that people being victorious, had 
recourse to the policy of ordering that " no smith 
be found throughout all the land of Israel ; for the 
Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them 
swords or spears." — 1 Samuel xiii. 19. It was 
customary with ancient conquerors to forbid the 
use of iron, with a view to prevent the vanquished 
from rebelling; either by removing the artificers to 
a distance, or obliging the people to go to the coun- 
try of their masters, when near, to get their plough- 
shares sharpened. This the Philistines forced the 
Israelites to do; and Pliny informs us that Porsen- 
na, king of Etruria, in his endeavours to restore the 
Tarquins to the throne of Rome, acted in the same 
way to the Romans, by binding them, in his treaty 
of peace, to use no iron, except in tilling. 

It was in a subsequent war in which Saul was 
engaged with the Philistines, that the youthful he- 

* The ambassador of the Seljook tribe of Tartars 
told the king of Persia, that he had only to send his ar- 
row through his people, to command the services of 
fifty thousand ; that another arrow would enlist an equal 
number; but that his bow would bring two hundred 
thousand to his standard. An Arab chief used to send 
on such occasions, a camel laden with two large bra- 
ziers of pilaw. Every one had experienced the gene- 
rous hospitality of the chief, and at once responded to 
his appeal. The war-summons of Saul will bring to 
the reader's recollection the fiery cross of the ancient 
Highlanders. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 219 

roismof David was displayed. 1 Sam. xviii. The 
elder sons of Jesse were serving in the army ; and, 
as the campaign had probably lasted for a consider- 
able time, his paternal anxiety naturally led him to 
long for some intelligence from the seat of war; to 
obtain which, he resolved on despatching David, 
though then but a raw and inexperienced lad, with 
a present to the captain, to bespeak his kind offices 
for the three sons who were under his command, 
and also to bring some pledge from the young men 
themselves, to assure him of their welfare. It is 
usual in the East for persons who are at a distance, 
to forward to those who are interested in their wel- 
fare, a ring, a lock of hair, or a piece of their nail, 
as a token of their health and prosperity; and it is 
not surprising, that, in the imperfect state of mili- 
tary discipline at that time, when the ranks were 
filled by men taken from their ordinary employ- 
ments, and when their friends at home were re- 
quired to supply them with provisions from time 
to time, missions of the kind that David was des- 
patched on, were common, and that the tokens of 
affection, established by the manners of civil life, 
would be frequently exchanged with the absent 
members of the family. On the arrival of the 
young man in the camp, his youthful enthusiasm 
was fired by the spirit of the place, and he volun- 
teered, with what was looked upon by his jealous 
brothers as the fool-hardiness of a boy, to enter the 
lists with that formidable Philistine, whose appear- 
ance and very name were a terror to the Hebrew 
army. The details of his heroic enterprise are so 
well known to every reader of the Bible, that it 
would be superfluous to relate it; and, therefore, 
contenting ourselves with remarking, that a chal- 
lenge to single combat with some champion of re- 



220 EASTERN MANNERS. 

nown, was a common method of terminating hos- 
tilities in ancient times, and that the combatants 
accosted each other on such occasions with allu- 
sions and epithets of the most opprobrious kind,* 
we proceed to notice two circumstances in the 
story of David's victory over Goliath, which he won, 
by the blessing of God, with no other than the 
usual accoutrements of a shepherd — his sling and a 
stone. The first circumstance is, that after he had 
slain his gigantic antagonist, he lost no time in 
striking off" the head, and bearing the bloody tro- 
phy to the feet of his sovereign. Such sensible to- 
kens of the valour of their troops, the monarchs of 
the East have been always desirous of obtaining; 
and while their victories are considered the more 
glorious in proportion to the number of heads that 
are given in tale, their triumph is at its utmost 
height, if the head of the general, or principal offi- 
cer of the enemy, is brought into their presence. 
Barbarossa, the Dey of Algiers, returning from the 
conquest of a rival kingdom, selected out of all the 
spoils that had fallen into his hands, the head of 
the king, who lay on the field of battle, to be car- 
ried on a lance before him; and a Persian prince 

* Goliath hurled every sort of invective against his 
youthful antagonist, a kind of dialogue not unknown to 
Eastern warriors even in modern times. The follow- 
ing actually took place in a battle between the Ma- 
hommedans and Greeks. Like the worthies of Homer, 
the Moslems magnanimously roared, " Come on, ye un- 
circumcised giaours, (infidels.) We have your mothers 
for our slaves ! May the birds of heaven defile your 
father's heads ! Come on, ye Caffres !" Then would 
the descendants of Themistocles, nowise intimidated, 
vociferate, " Approach, ye turbaned dogs ! Come and 
see us make wadding of your Koran ! Look on us 
♦rampling on your faith, and giving pork to your 
daughters !" — Madden 's Travels. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 221 

gave a pelisse of honour to the brave soldier who 
Drought him the heads of some refractory agas, 
who had dared to dispute his authority. So much, 
indeed, are these thought of, that they are often 
sent from a great distance. Not long ago, the head 
of a rebel chief, in some remote province of the 
Turkish empire, was sent in wax to the Sultan in 
Constantinople, and the person who had gained it 
was raised to the dignity of Pacha ; and in the late 
war with the Wahabees, the son of Mohammed 
Ali having offered a high reward for every head of 
the enemy which his soldiers might bring, many 
of the cowardly barbarians, tempted by the bribe, 
murdered the innocent natives, and brought them 
in such numbers, that the unsuspecting general 
sent off a ship load as the most acceptable present 
he could make to his father. The same ideas evi- 
dently prevailed in the time of Saul ; and the ap- 
pearance of the shepherd boy, therefore, as he re- 
turned from the field, bearing the head of Goliath 
was not a mere vain parade, but an act necessary, 
according to the custom of the age, both to display 
the glory of his master's arms, and to lay claim to 
the reward of his own gallant exploit — a purse of 
gold, and the hand of a princess. 

The next circumstance in the story of this me- 
memorable contest, that is characteristic of the man- 
ners of the East, is the band of females that came 
from the capital to welcome the return, and cele- 
brate in vocal strains, and with instruments of mu- 
sic, the prowess of their countrymen. Everywhere, 
in that part of the world, the people are accustomed 
in this manner to hail the arrival of those who 
have been any time absent from them. If they 
are in ordinary rank, their nearest friends and ac- 
quaintances, or, if they be great men, their depend- 
19* 



222 EASTERN MANNERS. 

ants, issue forth with tabrets and pipes to meet 
them, and testify, by the liveliness and loudness of 
their notes, the joy with which their presence in- 
spires them. But, more especially, on the return 
of a victorious army, as the interest is then more 
generally and publicly felt, multitudes are accus- 
tomed to issue from the towns and villages through 
which they are expected to march, with the view 
of forming a triumphal procession to celebrate their 
valour; the principal part of which is composed of 
women and children, who band together, and, as 
they go along, gratify the heroes with dancing, 
music, and extempore songs in honour of their 
martial deeds, especially of such of their chiefs as 
have particularly distinguished themselves by their 
gallantry. In a state of society, where wars are 
continually breaking out, and where there is often 
no permanent record of the heroism of those who 
have signalized themselves in the field, the songs 
of these female minstrels become more than mere 
momentary expressions of feeling, as they are often 
the only reward of such as do service to their coun- 
try, and form, therefore, important channels, through 
which the warriors learn the degree of estimation 
in which their conduct is held by their countrymen. 
Accordingly, when Phasaelus, the eldest son of 
Hyrcanus, the high priest, had freed his country 
from a nest of robbers, the Syrians celebrated 
his praises in their villages and cities; and when 
Herod accomplished the same service, he had the 
same honours paid him by the women among the 
Jews. In like manner, we find that such triumphal 
processions continue still to be the ordinary method 
of trumpeting the fame of a victorious soldiery in 
India, Persia, Turkey, and even in the Great De- 
sert of Africa, where Mr. Campbell had an oppor- 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 223 

tunity of witnessing it. When he was leaving the 
city of Lattakoo, he fell in with a party of men who 
were returning from a distant expedition, after an 
absence of several months. The news of their ap- 
proach had reached the town, and the women were 
hastening to meet them. On joining the party, 
these marched at their head, clapping their hands, 
and singing, with all their might, till they arrived 
at their homes in the town. The knowledge of 
these circumstances throws great light on the con- 
duct of the Hebrew women who met David on his 
return from the slaughter of Goliath, and on the 
causes of that deep rooted jealousy against him, 
which from that moment, took possession of the 
royal breast. The acclamations which rent the air 
in honour of the young hero, were not merely an 
involuntary burst of admiration, called forth from 
those who happened to be spectators of his valour ; 
they proceeded from the women who poured out 
of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing with 
instruments of music, to pay the customary tribute 
of public gratitude and admiration to the deliverers 
of their country; and their praises, which, as they 
were lavished on all with the hyperbolical style of 
Eastern compliment, might have been sufficient to 
satisfy the most greedy ambition, yet being the 
usual indexes of the general opinion, were naturally 
offensive to the king, from the indiscreet, though 
merited preference they gave to the young cham- 
pion of the day. 

The acclamations of the musical women were 
not the only honours with which David was re- 
warded as he returned from the contest with 
Goliath; for although the inconstant monarch him- 
self showed the greatest backwardness to confer the 
marks of favour which he had pledged his royal 



224 EASTERN MANNERS. 

word to bestow ;* yet the more generous mind of 
his son Jonathan, struck with admiration at the 
gallant bearing of the young hero, conceived an 
attachment for him which terminated only at the 
death of that amiable prince, and which he mani- 
fested on the occasion referred to, by making him 
a present of the flowing robe of scarlet that was 
flung across his shoulders, together with the whole 
suit of arms he wore. The value of such a pre- 
sent it is not easy at present for us to estimate ; but 
in countries, where the person of the king is re- 
garded with a degree of reverence amounting al- 
most to sacredness, every thing that belongs to him, 
or is given by him, carries with it a portion of the 
respect that is cherished for himself; and thus, 
while garments that are simply presented by the 
royal hands, and that have come from the royal 
wardrobe, are prized and preserved as exceedingly 
valuable, to receive any part of the apparel which 
has touched the sacred person of the sovereign 
himself, is the highest honour which can be con- 
ferred on a subject. The happy wearer is forth- 
with enrolled in the number of the monarch's chosen 
friends, and the cloak itself, which the favourite 
has been allowed the honour of calling his own, is 
transmitted as an heir-loom to his children, and re- 
garded as the best memorial that could be kept of 
the rank and distinction of their ancestor. Sir John 
Malcolm mentions an officer in the suite of the 
English ambassador at the court of Persia, who had 

* Fathers had anciently an absolute right over their 
children, and in no respect did they exercise it so much 
as in the disposal of their daughters in marriage ; and 
it was customary with kings and chiefs to promise 
them in marriage to him who took a city, or brought 
the head of an enemy, or did any important service to 
the state. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 225 

become a great favourite with the prince, and for 
whom a dress of honour had been prepared, which, 
however, he had found means respectfully to de- 
cline, from a fear of the jealousy which it might 
create against him. The prince still resolved on be- 
stowing upon him some distinguishing mark of his 
favour, took from his head and gave him a shawl 
which belonged to one of his own head-dresses. 
Sir Thomas Roe in giving an account of his re- 
ception at the court of the Great Mogul, says that 
some eunuchs and officers having apprized him that 
the king intended to make him a present of extra- 
ordinary value, it came not long after, in the shape 
of a cloak of cloth of gold, which the king had worn 
only once or twice, and " which certainly," he 
adds, " was a gift of considerable importance, as it 
is here reputed the highest favour to receive a gar- 
ment that has been worn by a prince, or just laid 
on his shoulders." Dr. Richardson too, tells us 
that when he was leaving Jerusalem, Omar Effendi, 
whom he had cured of ophthalmia, took off his own 
cloak, and put it on the Doctor's shoulders, saying, 
that as it was a superb dress, he wished it to be 
ever after worn as a token of the Pacha's affection- 
ate esteem. So great distinction, indeed, does the 
possession of such a royal vestment confer in the 
East, that it is sometimes worn for the same pur- 
poses that titles of nobility serve ; and a person 
who has no other credentials to establish his claims ' 
to be looked upon as a man of note, has only to 
append the notice of his having received such a 
token of the royal favour to his name, in order to 
ensure his obtaining a place among the grandees. 
An instance of this is given by Morier in his second 
journey to Persia, when he is describing the pro- 



226 EASTERN MANNERS. 

gress of a treaty in the course of being formed by 
the delegates of the British, Russian, and Persian 
powers, and the contest which the ministers of the 
two latter had about their right of precedency. The 
Persian plenipotentiary having no orders of knight- 
hood, his titles appeared inferior to those of the 
Russian, and he was at first at a loss how to make 
himself equal in personal distinctions to the other 
negociator, but, recollecting that previous to his 
departure, his sovereign had honoured him with a 
present of one of his own swords, and of a dagger 
set with precious stones, to wear which is a pecu- 
liar distinction in Persia; and, besides, had clothed 
him with one of his own shawl robes, a distinction 
of still greater value; he therefore designated him- 
self, in the preamble of the treaty, as endowed 
with the special gifts of the monarch, lord of the 
dagger set in jewels, of the sword adorned with 
gems, and of the shawl-coat already worn. Ac- 
cording to the views of this Persian minister, then, 
the gifts of Jonathan to the son of Jesse were equiva- 
lent to a patent of nobility ; and although the king, 
to the disgrace of his memory, hesitated, through 
mean envy, to give him the promised alliance with 
the royal family, the generosity of his high-minded 
son bestowed upon his meritorious friend a mark 
of honour which, according to the ideas of his coun- 
try, was scarcely inferior, and which ranked him 
thenceforward among the honourable men of the 
land. 

The splendid success that attended the arms of 
David on the above and several other expeditions, 
while it placed him in the eyes of his countrymen 
first in the list of the captains of his age, awakened 
the jealousy of the king to such a degree, that he 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 227 

made several unsuccessful attempts on the life of 
the gallant youth.* These attempts, made in the 
palace itself, David always found means of eluding, 
till at length the tyrant, bent on his destruction, 
despatched some trusty emissaries to surprise him 
in his own house, on which occasion he made a 
narrow escape, through the address of his wife, the 
daughter of Saul. 1 Sam. xix. 12. The story is 
interesting, and easily understood by an English 
reader, with the exception of one or two circum- 
stances ; such, for instance, as the apparently trivial 
and inadequate cause that prevented the assassins 
from at once executing their commission. For it 
cannot be supposed that men who had waited on 
David with such murderous intentions, and who 
were conscious, morever, of being supported by 
the secret order of the king, would allow the alleged 
indisposition of their victim to prevent them from 
violating his privacy, and searching every part of 
the house, to drag him from his concealment. The 
probability is, that Michal, who seems to have re- 
ceived a private intimation of the plot, had secreted 
her husbsnd in her own apartment, well knowing 
that no man durst violate, by his presence, the 

* Saul's first attempt to rid himself of David, was 
the proposal to bestow the hand of Michal on the gallant 
youth, on condition of his bringing evidence of the 
slaughter of one hundred of the Philistines. Barbar- 
ous tokens of this kind were in great repute with an- 
cient kings. In the ruins of Thebes, there is the figure 
of a chief seated in his chariot to behold the hands and 
feet of the vanquished cut off. There are heaps of 
amputated hands. The North American Indians look 
on it as the most glorious ornament, to have their heads 
and the trappings of their horses decked with the 
scalps of their fallen enemies. The Turks often cut 
off the ears of their enemies, and send them to Con 
stantinople as trophies to the Sultan. 



228 EASTERN MANNERS. 

chambers appropriated to the women, and that per 
sons who would without scruple perpetrate deeds 
of the greatest violence, would shrink from what 
the customs of the Eastern world have in all ag<^s 
made an inexpiable crime. From the eyes of all, 
except the owner himself, the inmates and transac- 
tions of the harem are veiled, and woe to the in- 
truder whose curiosity prompts him to pry into its 
recesses ; for though he elude the vigilance of the 
keepers, yet, unless his presence be connived at 
within, he incurs the risk of the severest punish- 
ment — the caprice of custom, which in these re- 
gions, has made women in all other respects the 
veriest slaves, having given them the absolute power 
of their own part of the dwelling. From the 
almost sacred privacy of these chambers, therefore, 
they are frequently resorted to as places of conceal- 
ment, and many a fugitive from justice or violence 
finds greater security within their walls, than if he 
should succeed in placing himself at a distance from 
his pursuers. A Persian nobleman, who had been 
convicted of a capital crime, disappeared, and not- 
withstanding the strictest search was made for him 
every where, could not be found. Suspicion hav- 
ing at last arisen that he had taken refuge in his 
harem, officers of justice were despatched to seize 
him, who, on their approach, were met by one of 
the culprit's women, threatening death to the first 
that presumed to cross her threshold — a menace 
which, according to established custom, she could 
have put in execution without any violation of the 
law.* The more arbitrary princes of the East, 



* Even among the lowest people, the privacy of these 
places is looked upon as sacred. Carne and his friends 
found an Arab, who had established himself and his 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 229 

however, do not always regard the privileges of 
these female sanctuaries, of which many instances 
occur in the histories of Persia and Turkey ; and 
Saul, too, seems to have been as little scrupulous 
in breaking through the usages of his country; for 
no sooner did he learn from his messengers that 
they were prevented from getting access to David 
by the plea of sickness, than he sent them back 
with peremptory orders to demand admission in 
his name, and to bring the object of his hatred to 
the palace in the bed, that he might have the cruel 
satisfaction of slaying him with his own hands. 
The idea of dragging a person out of his house, 
with bed and bed-clothes, appears to us more like 
the order of a tyrant, whose passion had run away 
with his reason, than a work which it w r as easy 
or practicable for his servants to accomplish. But, 
from the simple structure of an Eastern bed, there 
would have been no difficulty in fetching David in 
the manner prescribed, as it consists only of a mat- 
tress, over which a sheet is laid that serves as a 
covering, with a large flat pillow for the head ; and 
so little space do they occupy, that they are gene- 
rally cast aside into a niche in the wall, made for 
the purpose, whence they are brought out at night to 
be spread upon the carpet. They are consequently 
of a very portable description, nothing being more 
common in the East, than to see persons carried 
out on them into the streets and highways, to 
wait on the alms of the passengers, and even indi- 
viduals who are travelling to a distance, taking their 

family in a cavern among some ruins in Egypt. He 
conducted the travellers into various apartments of it ; 
but when he perceived their intention of penetrating 
into his harem, he drew his long knife, and protested 
he would revenge the attempt. 
20 



230 EASTERN MANNERS. 

own beds along with them. Michal anticipating 
such an order from her imperious father, persuaded 
David to escape out of a window, while she re- 
mained behind, and, by parleying with the mes- 
sengers, endeavoured to gain time for him to flee 
to a greater distance. In conformity with her for- 
mer story, she had placed an image in the bed, to 
represent the person of her sick husband, and 
drawn a coverlet over the bed, which gave a very 
natural appearance to her stratagem. The artifice 
of Michal was neither a new nor an uncommon 
one in the East ,• for the modern history of that 
part of the world furnishes several instances of per- 
sons feigning sickness, and covering themselves 
up in their mattresses, to escape the fury of their 
enemies. " One day," says Giovanni Finati, " as 
I went into a small village, above Sennaar, in 
search of provisions, I could not observe that a 
single living soul was to be seen, till, looking at 
last into several of the houses, I found the people, 
in one and all of them, lying down, and covered 
up, as in bed, with their faces distorted, or sprink- 
led over with dust, to pretend sickness ; for it 
seemed that, on hearing of the advance of the 
Egyptian soldiery, they had resorted to this arti- 
fice, whether thinking so to escape being pressed 
for guides, or whether fearing still worse, and 
hoping to move pity, from their supposed condi- 
tion." 

After the observations made on the active part 
taken by the venerable Samuel in the execution of 
Agag, the employment of Doeg, one of the officers 
of Saul's staff, in carrying into execution the bloody 
orders of the king regarding the priests of the Lord, 
is not surprising ; but it may astonish the reader 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 231 

that a mandate of such a ferocious character should 
be issued by a prince against not one, but a great 
number of men, venerable for their character and 
station in society, without a moment's delay, or 
the formality of trial. The summary character 
of the proceeding, however, is quite in harmony 
with the arbitrary and cruel acts of many Eastern 
despots, who have gratified their feelings of re- 
venge, or sought the attainment of their ambitious 
projects, by the death of those who had fallen un- 
der their displeasure, as hastily ordered, and in 
numbers as great as were the priests of the Lord. 
Came was present in Constantinople when a Turk- 
ish governor received orders to behead thirty-three 
unfortunate wretches, whose bodies were left to- 
tally neglected in the spot where they had been 
slain ; and the same writer mentions a similar story, 
concerning the fate of two hundred people, who 
had been decoyed by the Pacha of Egypt into his 
palace, and who, on a given signal, were put to the 
sword, every gate by which they sought to escape 
having been carefully shut. So great was the mas- 
sacre, that the Turkish soldiers, exhausted, sheathed 
at times their bloody sabres, and, seated beneath 
the trees around, took their pipes and coffee, chat- 
ted, or fell asleep in the shade. Of the same arbi- 
trary character with these deeds of savage despot- 
ism, was the act of Saul, by which so many of the 
priests of the Lord were sacrificed for no other of- 
fence than their supposed connivance at the escape 
of David. 1 Sam. xx. 11. 

Seeing no prospect of living on amicable terms 
with Saul, David was forced to take refuge amid 
the wild and inaccessible fastnesses of En-gedi, 
which lay along the western shore of the lake As- 
phaltites, and where, from the lawless and unset- 



232 EASTERN MANNERS. 

tied srate of the country, he was not long in finding 
himself at the head of a numerous and enterprising 
body of volunteers.* Thither the implacable mon- 
arch pursued ; and, in the desultory warfare waged 
against his unoffending and unresisting subject, in 
that rugged part of Judea ; in the rapid movements 
of David and his men, now appearing on the tops 
of the cliffs, now plunging into the depths of the 
entangled forests ; and in the disposition of the 
army of Saul, himself in the centre, with his spear 
stuck in the ground at his head, and his warriors 
strewed around him, we have a graphic picture of 
the camp and excursions of the Arab chiefs of the 
present day. Among the incidents that happened 
during David's abode in that wild and pastoral re- 
gion, the most memorable both on its own account, 
and as it affected the fortunes of the illustrious exile 
was his correspondence with Nabal, the chief pro- 
prietor of the district, to whom David and his men 
had rendered such valuable assistance in protecting 
his immense flocks from the incursions of the law- 
less and freebooting Arabs who frequented their 
borders, that, according to the customs of the East, 
he was entitled to levy, if he chose, a contribution 
from the master, in return for his services. 1 Sam. 
xxv. That customary tribute, however, the churl- 
ish chief refused to give, in terms so haughty and 
contemptuous, as, but for the prudence and address 
of his wife, would have probably led to the utter 
extirpation of himself and his family. The man- 

* David dwelt in the cave of Adullam ; and it may be 
proper to remark, that people anciently hollowed out 
immense caves in rocks, or underground, consisting of 
many apartments, in which they resided. Many such 
are still found in Egypt and the East, in the mountains 
of Spain, and some parts of England and Scotland. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 233 

ner in which she undertook to appease the incensed 
leader, is so characteristic of Eastern manners, that 
it requires a particular notice. The most obvious 
means of averting the threatened attack on her 
household, was to answer, without delay, the de- 
mand of her formidable neighbours; but justly con- 
sidering that a greater display of liberality had be- 
come necessary, in consequence of the insulting 
tone of her husband, she collected a large quantity 
of the most valuable products of the country, and 
despatched them to the quarters of the Hebrew 
chief. Not content, however, with this elaborate 
method of pacifying David, she resolved to go in 
person to the great man, following her present, as 
the people of the East always do, in order to watch 
the impression which their munificence may pro- 
duce ; and no sooner did she come in sight of David 
and his men, than she " lighted off the ass, and 
bowed before him with her face to the ground." 
To dismount in presence of a superior, is the high- 
est token of respect that can be given, and is to 
this day an indispensable act of homage to the 
great. "We met a Turk," says Dr. Chandler, 
"a person of distinction, as appeared from his tur- 
ban. He was on horseback, with a single attend- 
ant. Our janizary and Armenian respectfully 
alighted, and made him a profound obeisance, the 
former kissing the rim of his garment." Anderson 
says, "that when the governor of Mosul and his 
suite passed their caravan, he and his companions 
were obliged to alight from their horses and males, 
and lead the animals till they had gone by.'' And 
Niebuhr, "that an Arabian lady who met him and 
his fellow-travellers in the Desert of Mount Sinai, 
retired from the road, and let her servant lead the 
camel till they had passed." The attitude which 
20* 



234 EASTERN MANNERS. 

Abigail assumed, therefore, accompanied as it was 
with the lowest form of prostration, was the fullest 
acknowledgment she could make of the claims of 
David to her respect; and, when we consider all 
the care she had taken to testify her sense of his 
character and power, the train of her attendants 
who bore her valuable and seasonable present, and 
her own attitude of profound reverence, we cannot 
be surprised that the wrath of David was melted by 
the appearance and entreaties of the dignified lady, 
who 

" Lay at his feet, submissive in distress." 

The interview was of short duration, but so deep 
an impression had the prudent conduct and inter- 
esting appearance of that lady made on the heart 
of the chieftain, that, on the death of her dissipated 
husband, David sent a proposal for her to become 
his wife. This unceremonious proceeding was 
quite in the style of Eastern monarchs, who no 
sooner take a fancy for a lady, than they despatch 
a messenger to signify their royal wishes that they 
should thenceforth reside in the palace. The con- 
duct of David in forming this matrimonial alliance 
with Abigail, and afterwards with Ahinoam and 
Bathsheba, shows that the habits of modern Eastern 
princes had been early adopted by the great men 
in Israel. 1 Sam. xxxi. 

Not long after this adventure in the wilderness 
of Paran, the event happened which led to David's 
ascending the throne, the fatal battle of Gilboa, the 
result of which was rendered still more disastrous 
by the fall of the king, and almost the whole of the 
royal family. The narrative of that unfortunate 
engagement contains several circumstances which 
were characteristic of ancient wars in the East ; 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 235 

their tumultuary mode of fighting ; the flight of the 
people on the intelligence of the fate of their lead 
ers; the rifling of the slain on the following day; 
the amputation of the heads of Saul and his sons, 
and fixing them on the gates of the neighbouring 
city ; and the deposit of their armour in the temple 
of the deities of their enemy, as a tribute of grati 
tude for the victory. The conduct of the people of 
Jabesh-gilead, however, who at midnight stole the 
bodies of their deceased princes, and " brought them 
to their own place, and burnt them," must not be 
considered as exemplifying the usual manner in 
which the Jews of that age disposed of their dead. 
At no period was it a Hebrew practice to consume 
the remains of the departed, although, in imitation 
of other people, they seem to have reared funeral 
piles in honour of their later kings, on which they 
burnt large quantities of odoriferous spices ; and in 
the few instances which are on record, of their 
having burnt the bodies themselves, they were ob- 
viously influenced by particular circumstances. 
Thus, as the mangled corpses of the royal family 
had hung so long on the walls of Bethshan, that 
they would not admit of being embalmed ; or per- 
haps apprehensive lest their pious care in burying 
these venerable remains might be defeated by the 
attempts of the enemy to dig them up, and fix them 
again on the walls, the people of Jabesh-gilead 
might, on these accounts, think it expedient to de- 
part from the common practice, and secure from 
further infamy the relics of their sovereign, by 
imitating the heathen in reducing them to ashes. 
David was not behind the rest of the people in tes- 
tifying his deep sorrow for the fate of Saul and his 
sons, and his respect for their memory ; and two 
actions of his are recorded, in which the genuine 



236 EASTERN MANNERS. 

feelings of his heart found expression, the grounds 
of which are to be sought for in the customs of the 
East. The first is, that on learning the death of 
the king and his gallant sons, he not only rent his 
garments, and appointed a fast to be observed till 
sunset, both of which observances were usual at 
periods of extraordinary grief, but ordered the in- 
stant execution of the informer, who, by his own 
confession, had hastened the end of the unhappy 
Saul, and who had brought the regalia to ingratiate 
himself with David. 2 Sam. i. A result so differ- 
ent from what might have been expected, affords a 
high idea of the honourable mind of David, who, 
although he knew that all obstacles were now re- 
moved between him and the crown, yet shrunk 
with horror from the imputation of having connived 
at the commission of so foul a deed as murder to 
secure that exalted station; and the story of the 
Amalekite being so plainly a fiction, and affording 
no evidence of the death of Saul, but the regalia 
which he carried in his hands, and which he had 
plundered from the body,* David justly condemned 
him, as, by his own confession, and his actions, 
the assassin of the king. The order was instantly 
executed by one of the attendants, who struck off 
his head with a sword; a mode of punishment 
which is common in the East, and which, in some 
places, is especially inflicted on those who take 
away the life of a king. The punishment of the 
king's assassin was not the only manner in which 
David manifested his feelings on that affecting oc- 

* The bracelet alluded to as found on tne arm of 
Saul, was an ornament fastened above the elbow, com- 
posed of precious stones of great value, and worn, as 
they still are, only by kings and their sons. They form 
a conspicuous part of the royal dress of the kings of 
Persia. 






LIFE IN CANAAN. 237 

casion ; for he composed an elegiac poem, in which, 
with exquisite pathos, he celebrated the warlike 
virtues of the unfortunate princes ; and which, being 
widely sung among the people, contributed more 
to the fame of Saul and his sons, than any of their 
own recorded exploits. It has for ages been cus- 
tomary for the Eastern people to compose funeral 
songs in honour of their illustrious men ; for Nie- 
buhr informs us, that the Arabs are still in the habit 
of chaunting the valorous deeds of their chiefs. 
When the traveller was in Mesopotamia, he heard 
the inhabitants extolling in verse, the merits of one 
of their sheiks who had been captured by the Turks, 
and his head struck off and sent to Constantinople ; 
and when he was in Bagdad, the funeral songs 
which they had made on the death of Soleiman 
Pacha, were still often heard in the coffee-houses 
and streets of that city. So that it appears, from 
these circumstances, that the pathetic elegy, in 
which David has immortalized his loyalty to Saul 
and his friendship for Jonathan, was not only the 
most natural channel in which the feelings of the 
sweet singer of Israel would seek their vent, but 
the ordinary method of commemorating the virtues 
of departed heroes, as in Eastern countries it is 
even in modern times. 

The murder of Ishbosheth, (2 Sam. iv. 5,) a de- 
crepit remnant of the house of Saul, was perpe- 
trated by two of his officers, who hoped by that 
crime to obtain favour with his powerful rival, who 
filled the throne of Judah; and the opportunity 
which they seized for carrying their conspiracy 
into execution, presented itself in the ordinary 
course of their military duties. They had daily 
occasion to enter the palace, for the same custom 
seems then to have prevailed which is still so com- 



238 



EASTERN MANNERS. 



mon in the East, for chiefs to give their soldiers, 
along with their pay, a certain allowance of corn 
for every day, and as the grain is kept either in 
the storehouse of the palace or the general's tent, 
the officers are required to repair once a day to 
the royal granary to fetch their due to the soldiers 
under their command. This was the errand on 
which the two accomplices went to the house of 
Ishbosheth ; and as the corn which they wanted was 
for the daily consumption of their men, and re- 
quired, of course, according to the habits of the 
Israelites, to be carried to the mill early in the 
morning, it was necessary that it should be ready 
for distribution at a proper hour of the preceding 
day. Whatever was the regular time of the day, 
therefore, for the performance of this part of their 
duty, it could excite neither surprise nor suspicion 
though they came a little earlier than usual ; and as 
they purposely timed their arrival at the palace, at 
the hour when, according to Eastern habits, both 
the king and the principal officers of his household, 
were enjoying their meridian repose, which is 
generally from one or two till four in the afternoon, 
and in retired chambers, open towards the north, 
they succeeded, without molestation, in accomplish- 
ing their bloody purpose, and might probably have 
escaped detection, had they not, by carrying the 
head of the unfortunate king to David, become the 
discoverers of their own crime. In bringing that 
trophy, as a proof of the prince's death, they would 
probably display it with much ostentation and pa- 
rade, as is generally done when the head of an 
enemy is brought to an Eastern king. Thus when 
Dara, the enemy of Arungzebe, was defeated and 
slain, his legs and arms were lopped off, and his 
head was brought to the emperor, in a large dish, 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 239 

and carefully washed, in order that he might be 
fully satisfied it was the very head of his enemy. 
But the more generous mind of David revolted from 
the disgusting spectacle; and, while he ordered the 
head of Ishbosheth to be interred with all due re- 
spect, he commanded the horrid punishment to be 
inflicted on the two sons of Rimmon, still awarded 
to state criminals, who are first slain with the 
sword, and then their hands and feet are cut off, 
and hung up in some place of public resort, as an 
example to others. 

The only war of any importance which signal- 
ized the early period of David's reign, (2 Samuel, 
x.) was that undertaken against the Ammonites, in 
revenge for the insult which their foolish king had 
given to the ambassadors of David. A knowledge 
of the extraordinary respect and value which, in all 
ages has been attached to the beard in the East, 
will help us to enter into that spirit of determined 
vengeance which broke out in all Israel, on learn- 
ing the outrage. So essential an attribute of man- 
hood is this appendage considered, that it is fre- 
quently used as the symbol of liberty and power, 
and the want of it is the universal badge of servi- 
tude. Belzoni relates, that one of the buffoons of 
the Pacha of Egypt took it into his head one day, 
for a frolic to shave his beard, but no sooner did 
he make his appearance in that predicament, than 
his women actually thrust him out of the door, and 
such was his disgrace, that even his fellow buffoons 
would not eat with him till his beard was grown 
again. And Niebuhr mentions an inhabitant of 
Basra, who having shaved himself in a drunken 
fit, fled to India, and never durst return, for fear 
of the disgrace and punishment he merited, both 
by his shaving and intemperance. The beard is 



240 EASTERN MANNEBS. 

reckoned the greatest ornament of the person, in- 
somuch, that the loss of it would be considered a 
greater deformity than the want of a nose ; and the 
possession of it is invariably associated in their 
minds with feelings of truth and honesty. To be 
deprived of their beard as a punishment, is looked 
upon as the greatest mark of infamy ; to take one 
by the beard, is a token of the highest respect and 
affection ; to swear by it, is a vow which it would 
be the height of impiety to violate ; and the strong- 
est language which they use to express the value 
of any thing, is to say that it is worth more than 
one's beard.* From this Oriental mode of think- 
ing, we can form some estimate of the magnitude 
of the insult which the ill-advised king of the Am- 
monites put upon the messengers of David, and 
under which they smarted so much, that they felt 
ashamed to return in their state of degradation 
among their friends and fellow-citizens. Gross as 
the insult would have been, whatever had been the 
rank and consequence of the persons subjected to 
such a treatment, it was tenfold aggravated by the 
circumstance, that they were royal ambassadors, 
who, among all nations, have been personages of 
the greatest respectability and eminence, and whose 
claims to attention and a safe conduct have been 
held sacred by all people, even in the time of war. 
To have inflicted such a wanton injury on any of 
the subjects of the king of Israel, could not have 
failed to give offence to that prince and his people ; 
but the perpetration of such an act of infamy on the 
venerable persons of the representatives of royalty, 



* Henry Martyn, during his missionary travels in 
Persia, allowed his beard to grow, and found that he 
commanded more respect by that means. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 241 

and that, too, when they were engaged on an em- 
bassy of peace and friendship, was a stain upon 
the national honour, which it demanded the great- 
est promptitude and vigour to wipe of. The mar- 
tial spirit of David was not wanting to the occasion, 
and although it is impossible to justify the excesses 
which he committed on the wretched people that 
fell beneath his victorious arms, it must not be for- 
gotten that he had received provocation sufficient 
to rouse his most indignant feelings, whether as a 
man or a monarch. Insults of this nature seem not to 
have been uncommon, as two instances occur in 
the modern history of the East, precisely similar 
to that which Hanun offered to the messengers of 
David. Niebuhr relates, that Bender Righ, an 
Arab prince, who was of a brutal and imperious 
temper, committed this indignity on a Persian en- 
voy, which brought a powerful army upon him in 
the year 1765. And Shah Abbas himself, king of 
Persia, as we are told by Maurice, enraged that the 
emperor of Hindostan had, through inadvertency, 
addressed him by a title far inferior to that of the 
great Shah-in-Shah, or king of kings, commanded 
the beards of the ambassadors to be shaved off, and 
sent them home to their master. 

The story of Uriah (2 Samuel xi.) forms an epi- 
sode in the history of David that has left an indeli- 
ble stain upon his character, and stands a humilia- 
ting proof of the weakness of humanity in the best 
and most pious of men. But although nothing can 
palliate the atrocity of his guilt in that transaction, 
yet his exalted station, and the consciousness that 
no human power could long stand in the way of 
the gratification of his wishes, must have tended to 
produce in him a state of mind, and a liability to 
temptations, from which persons of humbler con- 
21 



242 EASTERN MANNERS. 

dition are entirely free ; and although the pure 
principles of morality with which his mind was 
familiarized might have taught him to check the 
abuse of his royal privileges, yet we find so many 
acts done by the arbitrary princes of the East, 
similar to the unscrupulous facility with which 
David made Bathsheba his wife, that it may not be 
uninteresting to the reader to record a story, which 
bears in many of its parts a very close resemblance 
to the part acted by the Hebrew monarch. " Nour 
Jehan, which signifies the light of the world, was 
married to Sher Afkhan Khan, of a Turcoman 
family, who, when they came from Persia to Hin- 
dostan, were but in indifferent circumstances. The 
wife of this Turcoman, who was a woman of ex- 
quisite beauty and the most rare accomplishments, 
captivated all hearts to such a degree, that the fame 
of her soon reached the ears of the Sultan, who 
formed the secret resolution of making her his wife. 
With a view of getting rid of her husband, who 
was esteemed a person of consummate bravery, the 
prince gave him a command in Bengal, and in a 
short time sent after him another with a greater 
force, and with secret instructions to put Afkhan 
Khan to death. On the death of her husband, his 
widow was easily prevailed upon to become em- 
press, and continued in that imperial station during 
the course of a long life." Such means do the 
irresponsible monarchs of the East take for the ac- 
complishment of their favourite schemes of plea- 
sure and ambition. But David, though he had 
power, and the habit of exercising it equal to any 
of them, was not so lost to reputation but that he 
was desirous, by every possible means, to preserve 
his honour ; and accordingly he had recourse to a 
series of stratagems, which betrayed the painful 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 243 

anxiety of his mind. Uriah was sent for to spend 
a few days at home, during which he was honour- 
ed with a dish from the king's own table, as a com- 
pliment to his gallantry. To receive a portion of 
meat from the royal table is one of the greatest 
compliments which an Eastern prince can pay, as 
we learn from all travellers. Thus Morier, when 
describing the reception of the British Embassy at 
the court of Persia, says, as they were at dinner at 
their own lodgings, one of the prince's own pages 
brought a dish composed of eggs, with two small 
bowls of sherbet, and a plate of powdered spices, 
which he announced as a present from the prince 
himself, which sort of attention is frequent in Per- 
sia with those who wish to honour another, and at 
the moment of dinner, it seems the prince, who 
was particularly fond of the dish himself, was 
anxious that the envoy also should partake of it.* 
But David was unsuccessful in his attempts to de- 
tain that loyal officer in the enjoyment, of domestic 
pleasures, as we find him sleeping " at the door of 
the king's house," along with the other attendants 
of the king, who, whatever be their rank, occupy 
that position, both for the honour and protection of 
their sovereign. In like manner, it is customary 

* In general, it may be observed, that to receive meat 
in any form from another, is a great mark of attention 
in the East, for the writer above quoted, describing a 
dinner given at the palace, says, " that he and his 
friends shared very frequently the marks of peculiar 
attention and politeness from the minister, which con- 
sisted in certain pieces of favourite dishes, torn off by 
main strength, and put before them, and also a bit of 
melon, which he scooped out with the same hands, and 
gave into theirs." VVhen a Tartar wishes to compli- 
ment his guest, he takes a bone or piece of meat, and 
having gnawed it all round, hands it to his friends to 
gnaw in turn. 



244 EASTERN MANNERS. 

all over the East, for servants of great men to sleep 
in the verandah or porch of their master. Dr. 
Buchanan informs us, that at Goa his servants 
slept every night at his chamber door in the long 
gallery which is common to all the apartments ; and 
Sir John Malcolm says, that a Persian chief, who 
had escaped from his prison, fled to the house of a 
friend, whom he found asleep at his door. 

In the conspiracy of Absalom, (2 Sam. xv.) 
which was so actively and extensively carried on, 
as to rouse almost the whole nation to support the 
interests of one party or the other, we perceive 
among the varied scenes into which that movement 
introduces us, several circumstances, the nature and 
design of which will not be understood without 
attending to the peculiarities of Eastern customs.* 
On looking to the royal camp, the first thing that 
strikes us is the motley group that are fleeing from 
Jerusalem, determined to follow the fortunes of the 
king, composed of men, women, and children ; the 
two latter of whom we are ready to imagine, would 
tend only to impede their flight, but whose presence 
on that occasion is not surprising, as it is the cus- 
tomary practice of most Eastern nations to carry 
their whole family along with them in their warlike 
expeditions. The next prominent feature of this 
vast and slowly moving crowd, is the appearance 
of dejection and sorrow that sat on every one, from 

* Absalom is said to have stolen the hearts of the 
people by the following means. " VVben any man 
came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his 
hand, and took him and kissed him." Thevenot tells us, 
that superiors, in order to court popularity, sometimes 
use the salutation which is given to equals, instancing 
as an example the grand seignor when riding along the 
streets of Constantinople. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 245 

the aged monarch down to the youngest of his tram ; 
their garments being torn at the rim, and their heads 
covered, barefoot, and besmeared with dust, both 
of which, but especially the latter, were practised 
only in seasons of extraordinary calamity. Then 
there is the sacred symbol, the ark, which was car- 
ried by the Hebrews in all their public and solemn 
processions, in like manner as the nations around 
them were in the habit of taking the images of their 
gods into the field along with them. And, last of 
all, there is a succession of strangers, many of them 
persons of wealth and importance, who poured 
into the camp of the illustrious exiles as it passed 
through their country, and displayed their unshaken 
loyalty by such liberal contributions to the main- 
tenance and comforts of the royal party, as it is cus- 
tomary for all Eastern monarchs to receive from 
their subjects, when they are making a progress 
through their d )minions. The whole description 
of the melancho y procession, the mixed character 
and irregular movements of the people that com- 
posed it, the negligent and filthy appearance of their 
dress, the violent gesticulations by which they gave 
vent to their grief, and the liberal donations of pro- 
visions, which were brought to them by the chiefs 
of the several provinces through which they march- 
ed, may find an exact counterpart in the experience 
and movements and treatment of Eastern princes 
in the present day. Not less Oriental was the con- 
duct of Shimei, who being secretly adverse to the 
dynasty of David, not only applied the most op- 
probrious epithets to the unfortunate monarch, but 
cast stones and dust at him. To understand this 
extraordinary conduct, it is necessary to remark, 
that when the fall of a great man has been resolved 
on, or is probable, his enemies indicate the result 
21* 



246 EASTERN MANNERS. 

by heaping every species of insult upon him, and 
generally making the expressions of contempt a 
direct and obvious contrast to the honours he form- 
erly received. Thus it was usual that whenever 
princes travelled far from their palace, they were 
preceded by persons whose office it was to lay the 
dust before them, a custom which, in those hot and 
sultry climates, was a great luxury, and which, as 
we learn from Pococke, still prevails in the East — 
a man having, during his stay at Cairo, gone before 
him and sprinkled water on the ground to settle the 
dust before him who was to be honoured and treat- 
ed like a prince. To throw dust in the air then, 
was not only a want of respect, but one of the 
greatest outrages which could be done to the per- 
son of majesty; as it reminded him that he could 
not then command the services of the meanest offi- 
cers of his court. But the conduct of Shimei was 
characterized by malignity as well as insolence; 
the circumstance of his mingling the dust with 
stones being a symbolical action, by which he ex- 
pressed and encouraged the multitude to embrace 
the purpose of sacrificing the life of the king. To 
cast stones and dust at a criminal, was the manner 
practised by the Jews of old, as it is by all the 
Asiatic people to this day, to signify their convic- 
tion that the criminal should be condemned to death. 
Thus, Ockley, in his History of the Saracens, re- 
lates the instance of a governor, against whom the 
people rose in rebellion, and whose fate they pro- 
nounced, by throwing dust before the palace of the 
Caliph, to whom they preferred their complaints. 
The missiles, therefore, which Shimei threw at the 
king of Israel in the day of his distress, were in- 
tended not only to add insult to rebellion, but to 
denounce him as a usurper of the throne, which 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 247 

was now about to be restored to the legitimate 
house of Saul. The only survivor of that unfortu- 
nate family, for whom Shimei displayed so strong 
an attachment, regarded the distressing condition of 
the king with very different feelings ; for, from the 
moment that he heard of the unnatural conspiracy 
that threatened the life and the throne of David, 
Mephibosheth had 'sunk into a profound grief, the 
acuteness of which he manifested by a studied neg- 
lect of his person. This is the usual way in which 
the Orientals testify sorrow in their houses, for 
while, in ordinary circumstances, they are scrupu- 
lously observant of every thing pertaining to per- 
sonal cleanliness and ornament, especially dyeing 
their beards with variegated colours, staining their 
nails with vermilion, and subjecting their feet, 
which their sandals leave greatly exposed to the 
dust, as well as every article of their dress, to fre- 
quent ablutions. In seasons of adversity and sor- 
row, they refuse all attentions to the body, leaving 
their beard to hang in its natural colour, and the 
most dishevelled state, and their whole person to 
fall into the greatest disorder, insomuch that it is 
common to judge of the extent of one's distress by 
the state of sordid negligence in which he appears. 
On looking into the camp of the conspirators, 
the few circumstances that have been put on record, 
besides the revelry which, as usual on such occa- 
sions, marked the commencement of their enter- 
prise, relate to their deliberations as to the best 
mode of insuring its success ; the most remarkable 
feature of which is, the proposition made by the 
gravest and most experienced counsellor present, 
that the aspirant to the throne would greatly 
strengthen his cause by taking possession of the 
king's wives. Among the despotic governments 



248 EASTERN MANNERS. 

of the East, where there are no fundamental laws, 
the crown is considered the private right of the 
king, and the order of succession generally depends 
on the will and nomination of the reigning sove- 
reign ; and when that cannot be obtained, or the 
sovereignty is contested by several rivals, the claim 
to the throne is determined in favour of him who 
succeeds in obtaining possession of the late king's 
court and wives ; for, having secured the favour and 
interests of those who are considered most nearly 
allied to the owners of the throne, there is little fear 
that the people, who are too much habituated to 
passive obedience, will think of disputing his title 
to the rest. Hence it is that we meet so frequently 
in Eastern history, with accounts of conquerors 
taking the wives of the princes they had vanquished ; 
and in contests about the succession to the vacant 
throne, of the anxiety of the rivals to gain over 
the females of the royal household to their side. 
The advice that was given to Absalom, therefore, 
was founded on a custom which has, in every age, 
been allowed to influence the settlement of king- 
doms in the East ; and, although its very atrocity 
might have been considered an insuperable objec- 
tion to it among the Jews, yet it was a proof of 
great sagacity in Ahithophel to suppose it would 
not be unpalatable among a people who were so 
fond of imitating whatever they saw in the mon- 
archical governments of other nations. 

The other counsel of Ahithophel, to pursue the 
royalist army when weary and dispirited, was hap- 
pily overruled, and that of Hushai preferred, who, 
being a secret partisan of David, was no sooner 
aware of the intentions of the enemy, than he sent 
intelligence to the king by two trusty messengers, 
who made a narrow escape from being detected by 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 249 

some spies of the rebel party. Their place of con- 
cealment was a well belonging to a friend, who, to 
prevent discovery, had recourse to the natural strata- 
gem of " placing a cover on the well's mouth and 
spreading corn thereon." Nothing is more com- 
mon than to see corn thus spread in the sun to dry ; 
and as wells in the East, which have their mouths 
level with the ground, easily admit of a mat or 
covering being put over the aperture to conceal 
them from sight, and when so covered, present the 
appearance of solid ground, they are not unfre- 
quently resorted to as places of refuge. Mr. Elphin- 
stone saw in Caubul many wells between three and 
four hundred feet deep, which the people had cov- 
ered with boards heaped with sand, to conceal them 
from the enemy. In the Kandian war, says Mr. 
Roberts, great numbers were required to follow the 
army as bearers, cooks, and messengers ; and such 
was the aversion of the people to the duty, that 
government was obliged to use force to compel 
them to go. And it was no uncommon thing, when 
the officers were seen approaching a cottage, for 
the husband or sons to conceal themselves as Ahi- 
maaz and Jonathan did. Having found a favoura- 
ble opportunity of issuing from their hiding-places, 
the two messengers carried their report to the camp 
of the royalists, who took their measures accord- 
ingly, and under the conduct of Joab, met the rebels 
in an engagement " in the wood of Ephraim ;" the 
result of which was, the complete overthrow of the 
usurper's forces, and the re-establishment of his 
father's government. The fortune of this battle, 
and the immense slaughter that was made among 
the followers of Absalom, will be easily accounted 
for, if we consider the scene to have been, not a 
" wood," but, as the word should be properly ren- 



250 EASTERN MANNERS. 

dered, a marsh, of which there are many to be 
found in this part of Palestine, partly so dry as to 
be overspread with a luxuriant crop of bushes and 
reeds, and partly so moist, as to be incapable oi 
affording a firm footing to a single person, much 
less to such numbers as would rush into them in a 
precipitate flight. The neighbourhood of this ex- 
tensive bog seems to have been purposely chosen, 
acording to the practice of ancient warfare, by 
Joab, who, aware of his inferiority in numbers, 
was anxious to turn to his advantage, the physical 
character of the place, and whose calculations were 
completely justified by the enemy being driven 
into the pits and morasses that lay in the way of 
their flight, or being retarded by them, and so fall- 
ing an easy prey to the sword of the conquerors. 
Exactly in the same manner, and in nearly the 
same place, we are told that the troops of one of 
the crusading kings perished, having unexpectedly 
plunged into the marshy places of a valley, out of 
which they were hastily driving a great number of 
cattle they had plundered ; and that another prince 
met his death in consequence of his horse falling 
into one of these bogs, on which he was discovered, 
overtaken, and slain, by the very enemies he had 
been pursuing. 

The death of David's favourite but unprincipled 
son, was a grievous blow to the heart of his royal 
father, (2 Samuel xix.) and the intense anxiety 
with which he waited for intelligence of the fate of 
the engagement, and especially of Absalom, mny 
be judged of from the position he occupied when 
the messengers arrived. To understand his situa- 
tion, it is necessary to remind the reader that he 
was then in the provincial town of Mahanaim, in 
the tower that overhung the gates of which a sen- 






LIFE ES CANAAN. 251 

tinel was posted, as usual in cases of emergency, 
to hail the approach of any emissary from the seat 
of war. By this scout, communications of every 
thing important he discovered were ever and anon 
made to the impatient monarch, who sat in an ad- 
joining chamber, one of those which served as 
halls of justice, and which, in ancient times, were 
always situated on the gates of the city. It was 
in this apartment, the nearest in the city to the 
scene of action, and commanding from its elevated 
position, an extensive view of the country, that 
David awaited, in the most painful suspense, the 
tidings of the contest that involved the fate of his 
crown. It was in this chamber at the gate, that 
he indulged his pathetic lamentations over the death 
of his profligate son. It was out of a window in 
the same place of public resort, that, when roused 
by the remonstrances of Joab, he returned his 
thanks to the army for their gallant defence of his 
life and kingdom. And it was in the same apart- 
ments that he appeared afterwards before the people 
of the city, distributing justice to all who came with 
cases for his decision. That it was the practice of 
the ancient kings of Israel, as well as of other Ori- 
ental monarchs, to decide cases while sitting openly 
at the gate, appears from many passages of the sa- 
cred history; and, in many parts of the East, we 
are informed that the same practice prevails to this 
day. Mr. Campbell describes an interesting scene 
of this nature at which he happened to be present. 
While in Kurreechane, a city twelve or thirteen 
hundred miles up from the Cape of Good Hope, 
he was told that a cause was going to be brought 
before the king. " Being anxious to witness it," 
says he, "I was led in haste to the gate, where I 
saw the king sit down at the right side of it, with 



252 EASTERN MANNERS. 

his secretary on his right hand, and the prosecutor 
or complainant, on his left, who stated his case 
across to the secretary. During his narrating his 
case, the king was looking about, as if not attend- 
ing to what was said, but I saw from his eyes that 
he was attending to what, for form's sake, was ad- 
dressed to the secretary. When the party had 
finished what he had to say, the secretary repeated 
the whole to the king, as if he had been entirely 
ignorant of the matter, after which he pronounced 
his judgment." This picturesque description gives 
us a lively idea of the scenes in which the chiefs 
and kings of sacred history are frequently repre- 
sented as placed among their dependants or their 
people; and accounts for the universal joy that per- 
vaded the whole city of Mahanaim, when it was 
known that their afflicted monarch had resumed his 
daily custom of meeting with, and taking an inter- 
est in the affairs of the people, at the gate of the 
city. 

The close of David's reign was signalized by 
the coronation of Solomon, the narrative of which, 
though circumstantial chiefly in the description of 
the preliminary steps that led to it, contains some 
things from which we may judge of the profound 
reverence that is paid in the East to the majesty 
of the sovereign. So far, indeed, does this senti- 
ment of profound devotion to the person of a king 
extend, that to every thing belonging to him the 
same reverence is due; and to touch the crown, 
the throne, the sceptre, or any of the insignia of 
royal power, without a special permission, was an 
offence rarely if ever pardoned, and that was gene- 
rally atoned for by the blood of the presumptuous 
offenders. The knowledge of these circumstances 
serves to account for the despair of Adonijah and 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 253 

his rebel followers, when they heard that Solomon 
was riding on the king's own mule, and was seated 
on the throne with the sceptre of authority in his 
hands. This accumulation of the peculiar honours 
of royalty, conferred upon him by the hands of 
those venerable men who were the favourite friends 
and ministers of the king, was not a sudden and 
unauthorized advancement of a rival, in opposition 
to the leader of the adverse faction, but an act 
which carried with it the weight of the king's 
authority, and an announcement, that whatever 
contests for the crown might occur, while the order 
of succession was unsettled, the views of any other 
competitor were now at an end ; since the royal 
will, by giving the regalia to Solomon, had deter- 
mined the throne in favour of that prince.* 

* A scene exactly similar to the coronation of Solo- 
mon is described by a modern traveller as having lately 
occurred in Africa. " The king of Zagozhi," says he, 
" is still living, but is very old and blind, and thinking 
he has not long to live, his chief concern is to establish 
his son as his successor. Fearing there may be some 
dispute about it after his death, he has already given 
up to him the reins of government. The usual form on 
these occasions will be observed, and is to take place 
on the new moon. The son is to ride through all the 
streets of the town on his father's white horse, pre- 
ceded by all the principal people, attended by trum- 
peters, &c, and thus to be proclaimed king." — Lan- 
der. 



22 



254 EASTERN MANNERS. 



CHAPTER VII. 



LIFE IN CANAAN— CONTINUED. 

Jeroboam's wife in disguise consulting Ahijah — purchasing foreign 
assistance by presents— king and his minister in search of grass for 
cattle — contest between Elijah and priest of Baal — heathen ideas 
of the powers and occupations of the gods — Elijah running before 
the chariot of Ahab — appointment of succession in prophetic office 
— defeat and extraordinary humiliation of Benhadad — story of 
Egyptian king — Naboth's vineyard — extraordinary attachment of 
the Orientals to their gard3ns— confiscation of the vineyard to the 
crown — punishment of young men who despised Elislia — prognostics 
of rain — Elisha's accommodation at Shunem — death of the Shunam- 
mite boy — manner of ladies' travelling — Elisha's orders to his ser- 
vant — promptitude of executions in the East — flight of the Syrians 
from their camp— story of Saladin — death of Jezebel — of the royal 
family — pyramid of heads,, high places, and walking on fire — de- 
struction of Sennacherib's army — funeral of Jewish kings. 

Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, had fallen sick, and, 
anxious to learn the fate of this favourite child, the 
distressed monarch thought of sending his wife to 
the prophet Ahijah; but, apprehensive lest the open 
acknowledgment of her being his wife, should in- 
duce the prophet to refuse her request, he recom- 
mended her to go in disguise, and to take with her 
a present of ten loaves and cracknels, and a cruse 
of honey. We have already had occasion to re- 
mark, that presents were generally given previous 
to consulting a prophet; and that these consisted 
of some kind of provisions, which might be equally 
acceptable as money or any other kind of present. 
What the wife of Jeroboam carried was certainly 
unsuited to the dignity and resources of a queen, 
but it must be remembered that she went to Ahijah 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 255 

personating a country woman, and that nothing 
could be more suitable to such a character than the 
articles of which her present consisted. Few and 
simple as they appear to be, they were very nearly 
the same as those which D'Arvieux received from 
the mother and sister of an Arab Emir whom- he 
visited, and from whom he received, early in the 
morning after his arrival in their camp, a present 
of pastry, honey, fresh butter, and a basin of sweet- 
meats of Damascus. Whatever may be the origin 
of the custom which authorized that the presents 
made to prophets should consist always of provi- 
sions for their table, it is evident, from the experi- 
ence of D'Arvieux, that the present made to Ahijah 
by the wife of Jeroboam, was quite in unison with 
the character she had assumed, and, although pre- 
sents have frequently been refused in the East, on 
account of their value being disproportionate to the 
ability of the donor, no objection could have been 
found on this account to the present of Jeroboam's 
queen. 

During the reign of Ahab, (1 Kings xviii.) on 
the throne of Israel, a grievous famine prevailed 
for the protracted period of three years and six 
months, which pressed heavtly on all ranks, from 
the king down to the meanest of his subjects. Of 
the dreadful extremities to which the inhabitants 
were reduced, for want of provender for their beasts 
of burden, an idea may be formed by the extraor- 
dinary circumstance of the haughty Ahab proposing 
to his prime minister Obadiah, to go in person, and 
by different routes, in search of grass for the horses 
and mules, both of which were held in the highest 
estimation. The places where Obadiah was recom- 
mended by his royal master to look for provender, 
were in the vicinity of springs and running waters 



256 EASTERN MANNERS. 

— a recommendation founded on a correct know, 
ledge of the state of the parched and barren regions 
of the East, where the few spots of verdure that 
occur, almost always afford a sure indication of the 
nearness of water; and the circumstance of two 
personages of such elevated rank setting out from 
the palace in search of such places, is one of the 
strongest proofs that could be given of the simpli- 
city of ancient manners, when the greatest princes 
were in the habit of stooping to perform the mean- 
est and commonest offices. Among the tribes of 
Asia and Africa, the same habits are to this day 
observed by the most powerful chiefs, who are so 
far from deeming it derogatory to their royal dig- 
nity to engage in an expedition to obtain either 
grass or water, that no employment could be con- 
sidered more suitable to their character, or more 
likely to secure for them the good will and esteem 
of their subjects.* 

The famine having been brought on the land as 
a punishment of the idolatries of the people, Elijah 
at length proposed to procure the deliverance of 
his country from the terrible calamity by a national 
return to the worship of the true God ; and with 
this view, he solicited the royal permission to make 
trial of the rival claims of Jehovah and Baal. With 
the consent of the king, preparations were forth- 
with made on the summit of Carmel, for the inter- 
esting and important experiment. The prophet of 
the Lord gave precedence to the priests of Baal ; 
and with the multitude who assembled to witness 



* D.uring the droughts in Hindostan, whioh often last 
from six to ten months, Mr. Roberts often saw men, 
like Obadiah, going along in marshy places, and by the 
Bides of tanks, in quest of grass for heir cattle. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 257 

the resu.t, stood the greater part of the day a pa- 
tient spectator of the mummeries of their supersti- 
tion.* Tired at length of waiting on their ridicu- 
lous and sanguinary attempts to conciliate the object 
of their worship, he upbraided them with the most 
keen and bitter sarcasms, recommending them to 
cry aloud, as if their god had been asleep, or were 
engaged in conversation, or were on a distant jour- 
ney, or had gone to the chase. These taunts were 
not the groundless effusions of satire and ridicule, 
but were founded on the absurd and grovelling no- 
tions entertained of the objects of their worship by 
the heathen, who, both in ancient and modern 
times, ascribed to their gods all the attributes of 
humanity, and considered that their favour was to 
be procured, and their presence and attention ob- 
tained, by means similar to those practised in secur- 
ing the ear and the good will of men. The heathen 
deities had all of them certain employments assign- 
ed them ; one had the management of the winds, 
another of the water ; the cares of which were sup- 
posed necessarily to occupy and distract their 
minds at particular periods ; and some were also 
engaged in long and distant expeditions, from which 

* The ordinary worship of Baal is expressed (1 Kings 
xviii. 19,) by kissing him ; for it was customary for 
idolaters to kiss their hand in honour of thoir gods. On 
more solemn and urgent occasions, however, as in their 
contest with Elijah, the priests were accustomed 
to dance round and leap upon the altar, and cut them- 
selves in the most ghastly manner. Nor were such 
practices known only in remote, times ; they still ob- 
tain among the heathens, who, as we are informed by 
the missionaries, cut themselves till their bodies stream 
with blood, or hang themselves to a pole by hooks fixed 
in the flesh of their backs, or cut their tongues, and 
practise many other cruelties to propitiate their 
deities. 

22* 



258 EASTERN MANNERS. 

they had to return before they could answer tha 
supplications of their votaries. Even in the pre- 
sent day, the same notions prevail among the hea- 
then, of the limited powers of the deities. Thus 
Siva, the principal god of the Hindoos, once fell 
into a profound reverie, which was supposed to be 
the cause of great public calamities and portentous 
occurrences that befell the land. On a particular 
season of the year, he is constantly occupied with 
the pleasures of the chase, to gratify him with 
which, his statue, together with that of his favourite 
wife, is taken from his temple, placed on a car, 
and carried out to the open fields. Sometimes he 
suddenly departs on long journeys, and sometimes 
he falls asleep, which he did on one occasion par- 
ticularly, when he had assumed the form of a por- 
ter, and, wearied with his task, resigned himself 
under a tree to the influence of 

"Nature's soft restorer, balmy sleep." 

From these circumstances, it appears that the 
sarcastic observations of the prophet were thrown 
out in ridicule of the prevailing ideas of the priests 
and devotees of Baal ; and they afforded the spec- 
tators the strongest proofs of the impotence and 
insignificance of the idol, to whom they had been 
taught to prostrate themselves with blind homage. 
The terrible destruction of the idolatrous priests, 
that closed the proceedings of that important day, 
was the signal for Elijah praying to the Lord for 
rain ; in answer to which a copious shower soon 
after fell to refresh the parched and thirsty ground.* 

* The approach of rain was indicated on this occa- 
sion, as it generally is in the East, by a remarkable 
phenomenon, which has been observed and described 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 259 

All classes overjoyed hastened to their homes, to 
escape the impending rain as well as to make pre- 
parations for receiving the watery treasure ; and 
Elijah in particular, testified the overflowings of 
his heart, by girding up his loins, and running be- 
fore the chariot of Ahab till it reached the palace. 
1 Kings xviii. 46. This attitude of the prophet is 
apt to strike the reader of the sacred story, as al- 
together unsuitable to his grave and venerable cha- 
racter; but it was done by him emblematically, for 
the purpose of conveying important instructions to 
the king of Israel ; nor was it either a rare thing, 
or deemed inconsistent with the character of per- 
sons of quality, to perform the part of couriers to 
kings and persons invested with civil authority. 
For in the East it is always the practice of the 
grandees to be preceded by running footmen, whose 
duty it is to chaunt songs in honour of their mas- 
ter, or to repeat moral sentiments for his instruc- 
tion ; and in proportion to the rank and dignity of 
the man of state who is thus honoured, is the qual- 
ity of the individuals who move in procession be- 
fore him. In a progress made by a Persian mo- 
narch through his dominions, he was always pre- 
ceded by multitudes, who, on his approach to every 

by many travellers. Its appearance is that of a small 
cloud, that rises in the East, whirling violently round, 
says, Mr. Bruce, as if upon its axis, till it reaches the 
zenith ; it then abates its motion, loses its form, be- 
comes mingled with vapours, attracted to it from all 
quarters, which, after meeting together with great vio- 
lence, burst in torrents of rain. This may have given 
rise to the peculiar expresion of the Scripture " there 
is a sound of rain." 

Elijah, on this occasion, cast himself down on the 
top of the mount, "with his face between his knees." 
It is customary for persons in deep and anxious medi- 
tations to assume this attitude. 



260 EASTERN MANNERS. 

town or village,, were joined by the most respecta- 
ble people of the place, proclaiming the virtues and 
princely qualities of the monarch, his victories 
over his enemies, and the most important deeds he 
had done for the benefit of his country. As the 
character of the reigning monarch was not one for 
which the pious servant of the Lord could enter- 
tain a high admiration, and as the srern fidelity of 
the prophet forbids the idea of his indulging in 
mean and unprincipled flattery, he probably availed 
himself of the character he assumed to impress on 
the royal mind the striking events of the day, and 
the claims of the God whom he served, whose su- 
premacy had been so signally asserted, and by 
whose beneficence the seasonable shower that 
hovered in the skies was supplied. 

Shortly after this remarkable occurrence, Elijah 
was ordered to appoint his successor in the pro- 
phetic office. 1 Kings xix. 19. Elisha, the per- 
son destined for this high distinction, was, at the 
moment of his investiture with the sacred charac- 
ter, employed in ploughing with twelve yoke of 
oxen ; but it is probable that he had been educated 
at the schools, and was possessed of the ordinary 
qualifications of the prophets. Nor was it incon- 
sistent with the character and liberal education of 
that class ef men, for the successor of Elijah to be 
occupied wiih the humble toils of the field, since 
agriculture was held, in ancient times, in such high 
and universal repute, that the most illustrious men 
of antiquity deemed it an honourable occupation to 
guide the plough ; and even to this day, in the cul- 
tivated and richer parts of the East, the same ideas 
prevail, the master himself always at least com- 
mencing the rural operations of the season. Elisha 
received the prophetic robe of his illustrious prede- 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 261 

cessor; a ceremony which has always been con- 
sidered, by Eastern people, an indispensable part 
of the consecration to the sacred office. It is in 
this way that the Brahmins are still invested with 
the priestly character, a yellow mantle being thrown 
across their shoulders, which is buckled round the 
waist with a sacred ribbon ; and it is in this way, 
too, that the Persian sooffees are appointed. The 
master, in the anticipation of death, selecting one 
of his favourite pupils, bequeaths his antiquated 
garment to the youth, who, by that act, is publicly 
recognized as successor, and looked upon as in- 
heriting, along with the mantle, the virtues and 
powers of his venerable precursor. The SufFavean 
dynasty, who long occupied the throne of Persia, 
owed the origin of their family to the reputation 
which the founder of it enjoyed for sanctity. That 
person who was universally regarded as a holy 
man, was succeeded by his grandson, Juneyd, who 
took up his mantle after the death of his grandsire, 
and a crowd of disciples flocked to him, as the heir 
of the talents and qualifications of his deceased rela- 
tive. It was evidently owing to the prevalence of 
the same Asiatic sentiments among the Israelites, 
that the succession to the prophetic office was de- 
termined by the descent of his master's cloak after- 
wards upon Elisha ; and so well was the action 
understood as conveying to the servant the spirit 
and authority of the master, that he was universally 
acknowledged as the successor of that eminent 
prophet. 

The insolent message of Benhadad, (1 Kings 
xx.) who demanded not only the homage, but the 
most valuable and sacred treasures of Israel, was 
enough to rouse a prince of even a tamer spirit than 
Ahab. And when the unexpected reply of the 



262 EASTERN MANNERS. 

king and council of Israel was brought to the Syr- 
ian despot, he was carousing with a party of boon 
companions in a pavilion or temporary shed, in 
which it is not uncommon for the chiefs and princes 
of the East to take their pastime. Notwithstanding 
the boasting style of this proud invader, his troops 
when they came to action with the army of Israel, 
were completely routed ; a panic, which, we have 
already had occasion more than once to remark, is 
a very frequent occurrence in an Eastern army, 
having struck the minds of his soldiers, so that the 
terror became universal, and the whole army threw 
down their arms and fled. Irritated rather than 
humbled by this disastrous termination of the cam 
paign, Benhadad allowed himself to be persuaded 
by the vain and arrogant suggestion of his officers, 
that the victory of the Israelites was owing to their 
gods being powerful on the hills ; and, accordingly, 
next year, he renewed hostilities with a greater 
force, carefully keeping on the plains, as being 
better suited to his army, which was equipped with 
chariots and horses ; but the result was still more 
disastrous to him for he was defeated with im- 
mense slaughter, and he himself, with the misera- 
ble remnant of his army, was obliged to sue for 
peace in the most humiliating manner. They came 
with sackcloth on their loins, and ropes on their 
heads, supplicating the king of Israel for their lives. 
These unusual and profound tokens of humility, 
were resorted to in order to propitiate the conquer- 
or; and were intended as an acknowledgment of 
their submission to the king of Israel as their liege 
lord. Many instances occur in the history of the 
East, of persons being forced to acknowledge their 
offences and coming to implore forgiveness in the 
very same style of profound submission. In the 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 263 

ancient history of Egypt, a remarkable instance is 
afforded, on occasion of the perfidious murder of a 
herald, sent to the people of that country by Cam- 
byses, to whom they were tributary. The Per- 
sian monarch, determined on ample revenge, laid 
siege to Memphis, took it, and seized on Psam- 
meticus, the king of Egypt, and the principal of 
his nobility, who were reserved to act a part in one 
of the most doleful tragedies that were ever per- 
formed. First of all, the king, habited in the 
meanest attire, was placed in a conspicuous place 
to witness the spectacle. One of the Egyptian 
princesses, his daughter, was then led forth in the 
dress of a slave, with a pitcher to fetch water, from 
the river, followed by the daughters of all the prin- 
cipal families in Egypt, in the same wretched garb, 
and with pitchers in their hands ; after them was 
brought forth the young prince, with two thousand 
of the Egyptian nobility, all with bridles in their 
mouths, and halters about their necks, led to exe- 
cution, to expiate the blood of the Persian envoy ; 
and, last of all, Psammeticus himself, with the 
same ensigns of degradation, his head bound with 
ropes, his sword suspended from his neck, closed 
the melancholy procession.* An example of the 
same kind is mentioned by Sir John Pvlalcolm, as 
having occurred in the modern history of Persia. 
Abdalla, great governor of Ammadabat, had by his 
insolent and disloyal behaviour, given the greatest 
provocation to the king. Being at last, however, 
persuaded to submit, he appeared in the royal pre- 
sence, with a sword swung from his neck, with 
chains at his heels, and barefoot. " The whole of 
which demeanour," says the historian, " is a mode 

* Universal History. 



264 EASTERN MANNERS. 

of begging clemency the most humble, and is con- 
sidered, by barbarious men, the most ignominious. 
It signifies, I approach you as a criminal, and bring 
myself to submit to whatever terms you may im- 
pose." A few years ago, the Shah of Persia hav- 
ing committed some arbitrary deed, which roused 
the indignation of the chief Moollah, was accused 
publicly by that priest of being an unbeliever. The 
greatest tumult was excited, the shops were all 
closed, and denunciations uttered against the king 
by all classes of his subjects. The nobility and 
soldiers would have deserted him, had he not con- 
sented to the only alternative, to come with a sword 
hung about his neck, and kneel down before the 
head of the Momammedan religion. In the former 
case, the sad tokens of humiliation were imposed on 
the criminals by the justly offended Cambyses, but 
it shows the ceremony in its true light; and affords 
a clear proof, that, in voluntarily assuming those 
symbols of submission, the fallen Syrians were 
complying with what the customs of the East have 
made the appropriate signs of humility and peni- 
tence, and they seem to have entertained the hope, 
that, by their suppliant tone and attitude, they 
would secure a mild treatment from the conqueror. 
The Israelitish monarch accepted the surrender 
of Benhadad, and spared his life ; in return for 
which kindness, the vanquished monarch agreed 
that the King of Israel should have the freedom of 
streets in Damascus, the capital of his Syrian tribu- 
tary, the object of which privilege is well illustrated 
by a circumstance stated by the historian of the 
Crusades, according to whom it was customary to 
give the different nations who were engaged in the 
holy war, streets, churches, and other public build- 
ings, in those places which had been taken by their 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 265 

arms. Thus the Genoese and Venetians were each 
furnished with a street in Acre, in which, together 
with certain immunities, they had the sole jurisdic- 
tion ; and in a treaty formed between Bajazet and 
the Greek Emperor, it was stipulated that the latter 
should grant liberty to the Turks to dwell together 
in a particular street in Constantinople, with the 
free exercise of their own civil and religious cus- 
toms. 

The next incident in the life of Ahab, the con- 
queror of Benhadad, exhibits his character in the 
most unfavourable and atrocious light. 1 Kings xxi. 
It appears that, near to the palace, a person of the 
name of Naboth possessed a vineyard, which, in 
consequence of its contiguity to the royal demesnes, 
the king cherished a strong desire to get into his 
own hands. The intentions of Ahab appear at first 
view fair and honourable ; but, as he evidently 
wished the proprietor to alienate it for ever from 
his family, a transaction which was expressly for- 
bidden by the law, it was the greatest iniquity in 
Ahab, who should have respected the law, to tempt 
him to break it ; and to covet it, betrayed the selfish 
and depraved state of his heart. Naboth was un- 
willing to part with it, not only because he might 
have acquired that fondness for the spot, which is 
naturally felt towards a place which one has done 
much to beautify and improve, but because it was 
his patrimony, and had long been in the possession 
of his family. Even according to our ideas, attach- 
ment to a property which has come through a 
long line of ancestors, would operate strongly in 
preventing the proprietor from parting with it ; but 
this feeling exists in a much stronger degree, in 
the breast of a native of the East; for there is 
scarcely a single tree in the oriental gardens, that is 
23 



266 EASTERN MANNERS. 

not associated with some pleasing recollections or 
traditions of the family ; one having been planted 
at the birth of one of its members, another having 
been watered and trained by the hand of another 
member of it, a third in memory of some great 
domestic event. Indeed, as parents in the East 
are in the habit of planting one or more fruit trees 
on the birth of every child, so a large and well cul- 
tivated garden is a sort of register of the various 
members ; so that to part with a spot which is not 
only endeared by venerable associations, but con- 
tains an ocular history of the family, is almost to 
sever all connexions with one's hereditary line, and 
would be felt as parting with life itself. We can- 
not wonder, then, that no considerations of profit 
could tempt this inhabitant of Jezreel to part with 
the inheritance of his fathers. The refusal of Na- 
both produced an effect on the king's temper which 
seems unworthy the character and dignity of a man. 
" He laid himself down upon his bed and turned 
away his face, and would eat no bread." This is 
the usual way in which persons who are in distress, 
or any way vexed, indicate the state of their feel- 
ings. " Nothing is more common," says Mr. 
Roberts, "than to see full grown men acting 
in this way when disappointed in their wishes. 
Go near them, and they avert their faces ; offer 
them food, and they will not eat; and, generally 
speaking, their friends are so weak as at any ex- 
pense to gratify their wishes." Thus acted the 
unprincipled queen of Israel, who, by a series of 
artful and daring perjuries, to gratify her peevish 
husband, succeeded not only in getting possession 
of Naboth's vineyard, but even in taking the life of 
that persecuted man. But how, it may be asked, 
although Naboth was most unjustly put to death, 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 267 

how could his vineyard fall into the king's posses- 
sion, when in all probability he had children or 
representatives to inherit it? To prevent any claims 
of this sort was evidently a part of Jezebel's plan ; 
and accordingly it was not by private assassination 
that she got rid of Naboth ; a means which this 
unprincipled woman would not have scrupled to 
adopt, had it suited her views ; but, by procuring 
his conviction of blasphemy and treason, in conse- 
quence of which the property became confiscated 
to the crown. We find it is still the custom in 
many Eastern countries, for the possessions of all 
who die by the hands of the executioner, to revert 
to the king ; and arbitrary princes and governors 
are often induced, by the hope of such " wages of 
unrighteousness," to take the lives of those who are 
eminent for their wealth or estates. 

The battle of Ramoth-gilead, (1 Kings xxii.) 
which was fought against the Syrians by the con- 
federate armies of Israel and Judah, does not afford 
any view of the state of military science then among 
the Jews. But there are some things that happen- 
ed, both before and after it, that require notice. 
Previous to an engagement, it was always custom- 
ary to consult the prophets ; and we find the idol- 
atrous monarchs applying to their soothsayers, and 
Saul to the witch of Endor, in order to ascertain 
the probable fate of war. In conformity with the 
usual practice, the allied monarchs, on the eve of 
the battle, summoned all the prophets before them, 
" in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Sa- 
maria," which was found convenient for the erec- 
tion of their thrones, and the meeting of a council 
of war. All the prophets present being in the in- 
terest of the king, promised a prosperous issue to 
the expedition, except one faithful prophet, who, 



268 EASTERN MANNERS. 

for his fidelity in reporting the message of God, 
was struck on the mouth, a punishment which, as 
inflicted in the East, is both severe and ignomini- 
ous. In opposition to him, one of the lying pro- 
phets, to show, by a symbolical action, the certain- 
ty of a triumph, " made him horns of iron," b-y 
which he intimated the ease with which they would 
rout the enemy, like furious bullocks pushing with 
their horns. His predictions, however, were wo- 
fully reversed ; and while the allied forces sustain- 
ed a signal defeat, the day was still further clouded 
by the death of the king of Israel. He had been 
wounded by an arrow shot at random ; but, al 
though the force was almost spent ere it pierced 
the body of the monarch, the wound proved mor- 
tal, in consequence, probably, of the arrow being 
poisoned, and the state of the weather increasing 
the virulence of the poison. Mr. Campbell had 
one of his black servants wounded by the poisoned 
arrow of a Bushman. A tame Bushman, who be- 
longed to the travelling party, said that the man 
would die when the sun went down. The event 
happened exactly at sunset, which was the time 
also of Ahab's death. 

The circumstances attending the death of Aha- 
ziah, the son and successor of Ahab, have been 
somewhat anticipated by former illustrations. The 
accident that brought on the sickness of which he 
died, was occasioned by his falling from the roof 
of his palace. The roofs of Eastern houses being 
flat, are generally, for greater security, surrounded 
by a parapet wall about breast high, but sometimes 
there is nothing better than a piece of lattice work 
round it ; and it was probably through a slender 
screen of this kind that the unfortunate king slip- 
ped his foot and fell. The bed on which he lay, 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 269 

and from which the prophet announced he would 
never come down, was the mattress spread on the 
divan, which is only a cushion a little elevated 
above the floor, such as the beds of all the better 
class of Eastern people consist of. And the appli- 
cation to Beelzebub, god of the fly, who had a fa- 
mous temple at Ekron, was because he was also 
reckoned by the ancient heathens, the god of medi- 
cine, the curer of all sorts of lingering and malig- 
nant diseases ; and hence originated the remark of 
the Pharisees in regard to Christ, "he casteth out 
devils by Beelzebub." 

Shortly after the death of Ahaziah, (2 Kings ii.) 
the translation of Elijah took place, and his servant 
was, in the manner we have previously described, 
installed in the prophetic office. Elisha was uni- 
versally acknowledged the only successor of his 
illustrious master.* There were some, however, 
of that corrupt and degenerate age, who neither 
gave credit to the story of Elijah's ascent to heaven, 
nor admitted the sanctity of his successor's charac- 
ter. A party of such young men, who appear to 
have been idolaters, happening to meet with the 
prophet, heaped all manner of abuse upon him, sar- 
castically bidding him follow his master, of whose 
alleged ascension they thus plainly intimated their 
disbelief. The expressions they made use of were, 
"Go up, thou bald head." Whether Elisha was 
bald or not, does not appear from the sacred story, 
nor does it affect the object of these young scoffers, 
in applying that epithet to the holy man, for, in 

* Elisha was the servant, or as it is literally ex- 
pressed, " poured water on the hands of Elijah," The 
Eastern people do not dip their hands into the water ; 
but while an attendant pours out of a ewer, wash 
their hands over a basin. 

23* 



270 EASTERN MANNERS. 

the East, to call a person bald-headed, is to treat 
him with the utmost degree of contempt. "1 was 
not a little astonished," says Mr. Roberts, "when 
I heard, for the first time, a man called a bald head, 
who had a large quantity of hair on his head ; and 
I found, upon inquiry, that it was a term of igno- 
miny and reproach. A stupid fellow is called a 
bald headed dunce, and of those who are weak, it 
is usual to say, they are bald heads. Call a man 
a bald head, which is often done although his hair 
be most luxuriant, and immediately, sticks or stones 
will be your portion." So that, from these cir- 
cumstances, it is evident the epithet implies great 
scorn, and is generally applied to those who are 
weak or mean, and, as it was applied by the young 
idolaters to Elisha, in all likelihood, in contempt of 
his prophetical dress and humble condition, as well 
as of the God with whom he was connected, we 
shall perceive that the terrible judgment that over- 
took them, was not too severe a punishment for 
their blasphemy and contemptuous treatment of the 
servant of the one true God. 

One of the most extraordinary occasions, (2 Kings 
iii.) on which the prophet Elisha was consulted, 
was when the three kings of Israel, Judah, and 
Edom, came to inquire whether they would suc- 
ceed in their intended expedition against the forces 
of the Moabites; the mind of the holy man being 
discomposed, as it seems, by the presence of the 
idolatrous Edomite, he called for music, in order, 
probably, that its soothing influence might prepare 
him to give a response with calmness and self-pos- 
session, and then he predicted the manner and issue 
of the battle in terms as plain as if it had been a 
description after the event. The manner in which 
the enemy were delivered into the hands of the 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 271 

confederate kings, was altogether miraculous, for, 
though it was through the intervention of water, 
there was not the whirlwind, which, in the East, 
is the usual prognostic of rain ; and it was to that 
usual atmospheric appearance previous to a shower 
that the prophet alluded, when he said, "Ye shall 
not see wind, neither shall ye see rain, yet the 
valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, 
both you and your cattle." The event fell out. pre- 
cisely as the prophet foretold ; the whole country 
was filled with water, and what proved a most sea- 
sonable relief to the confederate armies, was the 
cause of the enemy's destruction, for, in conse- 
quence of the reflection of the sun's rays on the 
water, which often gives water a red appearance, 
they were deceived into the belief that it was blood, 
and that such a profusion of it could have been oc- 
casioned only by some sudden and deadly strife 
among the allies. Under this delusion, they ran 
carelessly to the camp of the opposite party, by 
whom they were surprised, put to flight, and killed 
in great numbers, their country invaded and laid 
waste, their wells choked up, their timber felled, 
and all their fenced cities destroyed. The king 
was forced to betake himself to his capital city, 
where the confederate army besieged him, and 
where he was driven to such extremities, that after 
he made a sally in hopes of forcing the king of 
Edom's lines, but was repulsed, he took his eldest 
son, and in perfect desperation, sacrificed the youth 
upon the wall of the city, in view of Israelitish 
army, who being horror-struck at so barbarous an 
action, raised the siege and returned to their own 
country. The conduct of the king of Moab, hor- 
rid and unnatural as it was, has been sanctioned 



272 EASTERN MANNERS. 

by many heathen nations on great emergencies, as 
the only way of propitiating their deities. 

Elisha's holy character and office procured him 
the respect of all the pious and well disposed in 
the land. Pnrticular mention, however, is made 
of a substantial and pious family in Shunem, whose 
attention called forth a mark of the prophet's grati- 
tude, both of which circumstances afford scope 
for a few observations. The wife of the Shunam- 
mite had obtained the consent of her husband to 
appropriate to the prophet's use a part of the house, 
where he might lodge as often as he chose, attend 
to his studies and devotions without molestation, 
and where he might go in and out as often as he 
pleassd without intruding upon the privacy of the 
family. It was a small upper chamber, built in the 
wall, apparently of the same description as the 
oleah of the Arabs, described by Dr. Shaw, who 
says, "That to most of their houses there is a 
smaller one annexed, which sometimes rises a story 
higher than the house. At other times it consists 
of one or two rooms only and a terrace,while others 
that are built, as they frequently are, over a porch 
or gateway, have, if we except the ground floor, 
which they want, all the conveniences that belong 
to the house itself. There is a door of communi- 
cation from them into the house, besides another 
which opens immediately from a private staircase 
down into the porch or street, without giving the 
least disturbance to the house. In these back houses 
strangers are generally lodged and entertained." 
Such seems to have been the nature and description 
of that chamber which this pious and hospitable 
family appropriated to Elisha's use, together with 
the simple furniture suited to the prophet's character 
and habits. So much courtesy on their part, could 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 273 

not fail to make a corresponding impression or the 
mind of the stranger; and as money was not the 
kind of remuneration which they either looked for 
or needed, the prophet was revolving in his thoughts 
some other way of acknowledging their pious at- 
tentions, when, after some inquiries, he found that 
the most acceptable boon they could receive was 
the blessing ot offspring. According to his predic- 
tion, they had in due time, a son, who grew up, 
and was a source of increasing comfort and delight 
to his parents ; when one day, while amusing him- 
self among his father's reapers, he suddenly was 
taken ill and died. From the exclamations of dis- 
tress uttered by the boy, as well as from the season 
of the year, it is highly probable that he was affected 
by a coup de soleil, or stroke of the sun, which is 
not uncommon in hot climates, and often proves 
fatal. Egmont and Heyman found the air about 
Jericho so extremely hot, that it destroyed several 
persons. The army of Baldwin IV., in the time 
of the Crusades, was reduced as much by the vio- 
lent heat as by the sword; and a churchman of 
great dignity, belonging to the army, was carried 
in a litter on account of the heat, and expired. A 
German traveller relates, that he was seized with 
a severe inflammatory fever, which disabled him 
from riding, and he was forced to lie down on the 
ground, and became so ill that he was not expected 
to live. And Joliffe relates, that his companion 
was affected with a sudden giddiness, arising from 
the same cause, which brought on absolute stupor, 
and reduced him for several days to such a state, 
that it was scarcely possible to discover whether 
he was dead or alive. These two last occurrences, 
as well as the disasters of Baldwin's army, hap- 
pened near Tiberias, almost on the spot where the 



274 EASTERN MANNERS. 

ancient Shunem was situated. It was the exces- 
sive heat, then, which proved so fatal to the child 
of the Shunammite, who, in her distress, immedi- 
ately thought of applying to the prophet, in the be- 
lief that as it was through his miraculous interven- 
tion the child was given, so he might have power 
also to restore it to life. Accordingly, without loss 
of time, she saddled an ass, and with only a single 
attendant, made all the haste possible to find Elisha. 
Her mode of travelling is characteristic of the cus- 
toms of the East. There it was, and still is, not 
unusual for the husband to walk by the side of his 
wife while thus riding; the driver, according to 
custom, following and goading up the animal, at the 
speed that was agreeable to his mistress. The 
Shunammite, when she went in search of the pro- 
phet, did not desire the attendance of her discon- 
solate husband, but only requested a driver, whom 
she commanded to drive as quickly as he and the 
beast could run. In this way Carne travelled when 
in Egypt; the asses, which he hired at so much an 
hour, were very handsome, of a pure white colour, 
were used by all ranks, and travelled at a rapid 
pace. The Arab master, with a long stick in his 
hand, ran behind or beside him, displaying great 
agility in galloping in this way through the crowded 
streets of Cairo. A missionary, describing his 
progress through Madeira, says, that horses are 
employed almost exclusively for riding by. the 
higher classes, and in these cases one of the native 
servants generally runs behind and accelerates the 
horse's steps, by beating him with a stick. 

The counsel of Elisha to his servant, to salute 
no man by the way, can be easily explained, by 
attending to the customs of Eastern people, who 
observe the greatest ceremony in their salutations, 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 275 

and on meeting with their friends, consume a great 
deal of time in tedious and oft-repeated inquiries 
about their own health, the health of their families, 
and even the thriving condition of their cattle, and 
at their parting express their mutual good wishes 
by the renewal of so many forms and benedictions, 
as occasion very serious interruptions to the pro- 
gress of the traveller. In all parts of the East, 
these tedious and empty forms of politeness are 
adhered to, and particularly when a person happens 
to be of consequence, or to have been long absent, 
his friends who meet him imagine they cannot be 
sufficiently minute and circumstantial in their in- 
quiries about his health, and in their expressions of 
regard. Lander informs us that he was daily ac- 
costed by persons detaining him with such saluta- 
tions as these — " I hope you go well on the path, 
success to the king's work, God bless you, a bless- 
ing on your return," and many other expressions 
of a similar nature poured forth, and renewed by 
the strangers who kept along side of him, imagin- 
ing they would be deficient in good breeding if they 
quitted him soon. And another traveller, among 
several instances of such redundant compliments, 
mentions in particular that of a young man, who 
having met with an Arab acquaintance, extended 
his hand to the stranger and detained him a con- 
siderable time with his civilities, and when the Arab 
was obliged to move with greater speed, to over- 
take his companions, the youth, thinking he had 
not done all that civility required, ran along side of 
the horse for nearly half a mile, keeping up a run- 
ning fire of interrogatories — " how art thou thyself? 
how are your wife, your sons and daughters] your 
horses and camels'? Praised be God, thou art ar- 
rived in peace ! God grant thee peace ! Well, 



276 EASTERN MANNERS. 

how dost thou do? 1 ' From such specimens of the 
wearisome formalities observed at the meeting of 
friends and acquaintances in the East, we ''an easily 
perceive the reason of Elisha's peremptory orders 
to his servant neither to give nor return salutations 
to any one during his progress to the Shunammite's 
dwelling. It was not that he should neglect or 
despise the civilities of ordinary life, but, as he was 
going upon an errand of life and death, the mo- 
ments were too precious to be thrown away in 
frivolous compliments. 

During the siege of Samaria by the king of Sy- 
ria, a famine prevailed in the city. (2 Kings vi.) 
which reduced the people to so great extremities, 
that a woman, driven to desperation, actually killed 
her infant son for the support of her wretched ex- 
istence.* On receiving intelligence of this horrible 
barbarity, which made him acquainted with the 
full extent of the public calamity, the king expe- 
rienced the most painful sensations, and, listening 
to the malicious suggestions of some of his cour- 
tiers, that the whole evil was produced through the 
influence of Elisha, he, in the excitement of the 

* The extremities to which the people were reduced, 
are indicated by two circumstances, one of which is, 
that an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of sil- 
ver. The eating of any part of an ass was forbidden, 
and the circumstance of the people being obliged to 
violate the law relating to meats, of which, in other 
circumstances, they were so scrupulously observ- 
ant, is a strong proof that the pangs of hunger had 
overcome every other consideration. The other cir- 
cumstance that indicates the extent of the famine is, 
that a fourth part of a cab of " dove's dung," by which 
is supposed to be meant a kind of pulse, was sold for 
five pieces of silver. This was generally very cheap, 
bo that the extraordinary price of this common provi- 
sion is mentioned to show the extremity of suffering 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 277 

moment, despatched a messenger to put the pro- 
phet to instant death. Elisha happened at the 
time to be sitting at home with some friends, to 
whom, having announced the approach of the offi- 
cer, to execute his fatal commission, he gave orders 
forthwith to bolt the door, and keep him on the 
outside of the house. This was an act of no small 
fortitude, for which neither the friends of the pro- 
phet, nor the royal deputy were in all probability 
prepared ; for, from various instances recorded at 
this stage of the Jewish history, the power of the 
monarchs of Israel seems to have become as des- 
potic, and to have been as implicitly obeyed by his 
passive subjects, as that of the sultan is by the 
Turks, or of the shah by the Persians of the pre- 
sent day. Among them, no sooner does a person 
fall under the displeasure of his imperial master, 
than, no matter what be his rank, character, or the 
venial nature of his offence, an officer is sent to 
his house, produces the firman or warrant of exe- 
cution, which the unfortunate victim takes into his 
hands, puts it on his head, in token of respect, and 
after kissing it with all the enthusiasm of passive 
obedience, submits his head in silence to the sword. 
Carne relates an execution of this kind which oc- 
curred when he was in Constantinople. A vener- 
able governor, whose integrity and great reputation 
were his only crime, having been ordered, on some 
fictitious charge, into banishment, contrived to make 
his escape to his family. The very evening of his 
return he was discovered, and when the capidgi 
arrived with the mandate of the Sultan, that he 
should immediately die, the obedient Turk, with- 
out a murmur on his part, or the least show of re- 
sistance on that of his friends, kissed the imperial 
24 



278 EASTERN MANNERS. 

signet, and kneeling down, folded his hands on his 
bosom, and was slain. The frequency of such 
executions is well known to the reader of Asiatic 
history, and that the later kings of Israel had intro- 
duced the same practice of ridding themselves of 
their obnoxious subjects, is apparent from the dread- 
ful celerity with which Doeg, Benaiah, and others, 
executed their sanguinary tasks. Had not such 
mandates been common, and in general submitted 
to without opposition, no monarch would have 
hazarded his reputation and authority by despatching 
a single servant to take the head of a personage 
held in such universal and deserved estimation as 
Elisha; and the surprise and indignation of the ty- 
rant must have been not small, when the messen- 
ger returned with the report that the prophet re- 
fused submitting his head to the order of his sove- 
reign. 

The siege of Samaria was raised, (2 Kings vii.) 
and the starving inhabitants supplied with provi- 
sions in an unexpected manner, as had been pre- 
dicted by Elisha. By a miraculous sound, as of 
chariots and horses, the Syrians were so panic- 
struck, that, abandoning their tents, provisions, and 
all the appurtenances of their camp, they fled with 
the utmost precipitation. Their flight was dis- 
covered by some outcast lepers, who having re- 
solved to throw themselves on the tender mercies 
of the enemy, found, to their great amazement, the 
greatest plenty of all things, but not a person in 
the camp. Without delay they commnnicated their 
discovery to the sentinels at the gate through whom 
it soon reached the ears of the king and his attend- 
ants ; and it was not unnatural for them to suppose 
that it was a stratagem to draw them beyond the 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 279 

walls, and take them by surprise.* The sudden 
departure of the Syrians, however, was no ruse de 
guerre, but the effect of uncontrollable terror ; seve- 
ral examples of which, in producing the dispersion 
and overthrow of eastern armies, have already been 
given in these illustrations; and we subjoin another 
from its similarity to the case of the Syrians. 
During the crusading wars, the armies of Saladin 
and Baldwin met at Gaza, and prepared for an en- 
gagement next morning. During the night, how- 
ever, an unaccountable panic seized the Saracen 
troops ; insomuch that to a man, they took to flight, 
and, that they might escape the more expeditious- 
ly from the danger of which they were apprehen- 
sive, they threw off their arms and clothes and all 
their military accoutrements, and abandoned their 
baggage and stores to the soldiers of the cross. 
The deliverance of Samaria, however, by the sud- 
den flight of the besiegers, and the plentiful sup- 
ply of provisions the inhabitants found in the de- 

* Tho suspicion of the Israelites, that the flight of the 
enemy was owing to a stratagem, was the more na- 
tural, as manoeuvres of the same kind frequently occur 
in the military annals of the East. One remarkable 
artifice of this nature is mentioned in the history of the 
revolt of Ali Bey. Sheik Daher, having come up to the 
army of the Pacha of Damascus, and given out that he 
was not going to engage till next morning, marched 
off during the night to a little distance, leaving fires 
burning, and all sorts of provisions, together with a 
large quantity of spirituous liquors in the camp. Con- 
ceiving from the appearance of the camp, ihat the 
enemy were buried in sleep, the Pacha resolved on a 
midnight attack ; but, perceiving on his arrival the 
camp totally deserted, and ascribing the flight of the 
enemy to a panic, he and his soldiers gave themselves 
up to unrestrained indulgence ; during which, and when 
they were intoxicated with wine, the wily Sheik sud- 
denly came upon them, and committed immense havoc 



280 EASTERN MANNERS. 

serted camp, must be ascribed to the miraculous 
interposition of God in behalf of the Israelites; 
since the supply of the city with food, and the 
establishment of the market, as usual, at the gate 
of the city, together with the violent death of the 
sceptical nobleman, happened exactly in the man- 
ner that Elisha had predicted. 

Elisha's next public transaction, (2 Kings ix.) 
was the inauguration of Jehu, to be king of Israel. 
No sooner had he received the sanction of the pro- 
phet, than that ambitious captain, with several of 
his chosen friends, set off to the quarters of the 
king, to slay the whole of the royal family. Jo- 
ram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, 
were the first victims. The fate of the wretched 
Jezebel was peculiarly affecting and awful. To 
understand her situation, it is necessary to remark, 
that in all the buildings of the East, as we are in- 
formed by Shaw, the windows open into private 
courts, with the exception of a latticed window or 
balcony that looks towards the street ; and this is 
never opened but during the celebration of some 
public festival, when, in the enjoyment of the liber- 
ty and revelling that then prevail, crowds of both 
sexes, decked out in their best apparel, and laying 
aside their usual reserve and restraint, go in and 
out when they please.* When the cavalcade of 
Jehu entered, Jezebel, having got notice of the 
conspirators' approach, ventured to appear in pub- 
lic in her gayest attire, upbraiding the usurper, and 
denouncing the greatest vengeance upon him. On 
a sign from Jehu, some of his partisans in the pal- 

* Jezebel is described as having her face painted, 
which probably refers to the common practice of Eas- 
tern ladies staining their eye-lids and eye-brows with 
a bluish black powder. 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 281 

ace hurled her from the window, and dashed her 
brains out upon the street; a mode of punishment 
which the reader is apt to imagine was purely ac- 
cidental, and suggested to the conspirators by the 
position of their victim; but it is one which has 
been very common in the East, as we meet with 
many descriptions of similar tragedies in the an- 
cient historians of the East; and Sir Robert Ker 
Porter mentions having seen the windows of seve- 
ral Eastern palaces out of which the malefactors 
were thrown the moment sentence was pro- 
nounced. On the spot where she breathed her 
last, the unhonoured remains of what was once the 
queen of Israel, lay a* prey to the dogs of the city. 
To the inhabitants of a Christian country, where 
the tone of manners and morals is raised through 
the influence of the Gospel, the cruelties inflicted 
on criminals, and the indifference with which their 
bodies were left without burial, to become the prey 
of the dogs, which have in all ages infested the 
streets of Eastern cities, appear almost incredible. 
Those animals, which in Eastern lands are suffered 
to roam at large without any owners, or any cer- 
tain sources of obtaining their food, possess none of 
the social qualities of the canine species amongst 
us. They are exceedingly fierce, ravenous, and 
fond of human flesh; so that to be devoured by 
dogs is, in many places, a mode of punishment re- 
served for heinous offences, and the carcasses are 
allowed to lie in the public streets and highways, 
which the passengers, accustomed to such specta- 
cles, pass and repass with the greatest indifference. 
Sir Thomas Roe, while at the court of the Great 
Mogul, saw fourteen thieves, who, after having been 
dreadfully mutilated in their hands and feet, were 
exposed, while still alive, to some rapacious dogs, 
24* 



282 EASTERN MANNERS. 

and their carcasses left naked, bloody, and putrid, 
on the pavement; and Bruce describes the courts 
of the Abyssinian governors, as strewed with the 
disgusting remnants of headless bodies, which the 
dogs were greedily devouring before the eyes of 
the callous natives. 

Though thus far successful in ridding himself of 
those who stood most in the way of his ambition, 
the crafty Jehu did not consider his title to the 
throne secure, so long as any of the royal family, 
or the priests of Baal, who were devoted to the 
reigning dynasty, were alive; and therefore having 
taken measures for getting them into his power, he 
slew seventy of the sons of Ahab, forty-two of the 
brethren of Ahaziah, and the whole of the priests 
of Baal, and caused the heads of Ahab's sons to be 
laid in two heaps at the gate of the palace. Such 
shocking barbarities are far from being uncommon 
in the East, and so gratifying a spectacle does a 
number of enemies' heads seem to afford to the 
princes of that quarter of the world, that there is 
scarcely any one country there, even the most ad- 
vanced in civilization, where instances may not be 
found, of sovereigns and chiefs adorning the walls 
and avenues of their palaces with those bloody tro- 
phies. On passing one of the gates of the seraglio 
in Constantinople, which stood open. Mr. Carne 
saw a number of heads of the wretched Greeks 
which the boys were tumbling about like foot-balls. 
A traveller who was invited to the court of the Dey 
of Algiers, says, the first object that struck his eyes, 
were six bleeding heads, ranged along the entrance 
to the palace; and Sir John Malcolm informs us, 
that at the storming of Ispahan, where the slaughter 
was beyond all description, Timour ordered seventy 
thousand heads to be piled up as a mouument of 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 283 

his conquest.* So fond are Eastern conquerors of 
these sanguinary trophies, that prisoners have been 
known to be put to death in cold blood, in order 
that a greater number of heads might be despatched 
from the seat of war to the victorious monarch ; 
and so callous are the persons charged with the 
arrangement of them, that they often select a head 
of peculiar appearance and long beard, to grace the 
summit of the pyramid. f 

During the reign of Jehu, and several of his suc- 
cessors, the people of Israel sunk into the abomina- 
tions of idolatry, and, as we read of many of their 
idolatrous practices, particularly of their frequenting 
high places, and their making their children pass 
through the fire, it may be proper to bestow a pass- 
ing notice on them in this place. Their setting 
up images in every high hill, and under every green 
tree, and burning incense there, bear an exact re- 
semblance to the usages of modern heathenism. 
Among the Hindoos, as we are informed by Mr. 
Roberts, every high hill is considered the residence 
of some divinity; and the summit is generally 
adorned with some rude symbol, formed either by 
nature or fancy, which represents the tutelary god 

* "Ina dark and cavernous apartment of the con- 
vent of St. Saba, is a very extraordinary spectacle. 
The opposite side of the precipice is full of caves. A 
great number of Christians were slaughtered here by 
a body of soldiers sent by one of the caliphs. The 
sculls of these martyrs have been collected, and are 
piled in small pyramids in this chamber to the number 
of two or three thousand." — Game's Letters from the 
East. 

f Chap. x. 27 —We are told that Jehu converted the 
house of Baal into a draught-house. In the same man- 
ner did Abbas, king of Persia, act towards the tomb 
of Harifah, one of the Turkish saints, which was used 
as a place of prayer when he took Bagdad. 



284 EASTERN MANNERS. 

of the mountain. Vestiges of their worship are 
found also under every green tree. At the root of 
one tree may be seen the peculiar emblem of Siva, 
at the root of another the symbols of Vishnu or 
Ganesa, and at the foot of a third, the ruined re- 
mains of an altar, or the ashes of a recent fire, on 
which some of the deluded victims have lately ex- 
hibited their superstitious devotion. Horrid as the 
latter practice is, there can be no doubt of the fact. 
" It is sometimes done," says the respectable mis- 
sionary just quoted, "in consequence of a vow, or 
to receive greater favour from the gods. A fire is 
made on the ground from twenty to thirty paces in 
length, and the individual walks barefoot, back- 
wards and forwards, as many times as he may be- 
lieve the nature of his circumstances may require. 
When a man is sick, he vows, O Kali mother, only 
cure me, and I will walk on fire in your holy pre- 
sence; and a father for an afflicted child, vows, O 
Kali, only deliver him, and when he is fifteen years 
of age, he shall walk on fire in your presence." 

The reign of the good king Hezekiah ( 2 Kings 
xviii.) was signalized by the extraordinary and 
memorable deliverance which the Lord granted to 
him and his people out of the hands of the Assy- 
rians under Sennacherib. The destruction of the 
vast multitude whom that invader commanded, who 
all perished in a single night, is in one passage 
attributed to an angel of the Lord ; but, in another 
part of the same history, and also by Isaiah, it is 
said to have been occasioned by a blast, which is 
generally, and on good grounds, supposed to mean 
the simoom or hot pestilential wind, which is so 
prevalent in the sultry regions of the East. It is a 
wind, which, blowing over an immense tract of 
heated ground or sand, becomes itself so hot and 



LIFE IN CANAAN. 285 

stifling, as to occasion the greatest clanger, and 
even immediate death to the traveller. Its ap- 
proach is indicated by a haze in the atmosphere, of 
a purplish colour, which passes along with silent 
and incredible velocity. The moment it is per- 
ceived by the natives and the camels, who are well 
acquainted with its fatal power, they instantly fall 
to the ground, and bury their mouth and nostrils in 
the sand. Delia Valle mentions the melancholy 
fate of two gentlemen, who were travelling with 
him, and who having gone during the middle of the 
day into a khan to rest, fell asleep at the open 
window, and were found dead, and their bodies 
very black and disfigured, in consequence of a 
blast of the simoom having passed over them while 
they lay, unconscious of their danger, in that ex- 
posed situation. Another traveller mentions, that 
the water in their skins was dried up in a moment, 
and that his companion, who had been bathing in 
the Tigris, having on a pair of Turkish drawers, 
showed them, on his return, perfectly dried in an 
instant by this hot wind having come across the 
river. The most circumstantial, however, as well 
as the most recent account of a dreadful destruction 
occasioned by this hot wind in the year 1813, is 
given in the newspapers of that day. The cara- 
van from Mecca to Aleppo consisted of two thou- 
sand souls, merchants and travellers, pilgrims re- 
turning from performing their devotions at Mecca, 
and a numerous train of attendants, the whole 
escorted by four hundred military. The march 
was in three columns. On the 15th of August 
they entered the Great Arabian Desert, in which 
they travelled seven days, and were approaching 
its boundary. A few hours more would have 
placed them beyond the reach of danger, when, on 



286 EASTERN MANNERS. 

the morning of the 23d, just as they had struck their 
tents, and begun their march, a wind rose and ble\* 
with tremendous rapidity. They pushed on as fast as 
their beasts of burden could carry them, to escape 
the threatened danger, when the fatal simoom set in 
suddenly, the sky was overcast, dense clouds appear- 
ed, whose extremity darkened the horizon, and shot 
with the rapidity of lightning across the desert. They 
approached the columns of the caravan. Both men 
and beasts overcome by a sense of common danger, 
uttered piercing cries, and the next, moment fell 
beneath its pestilential influences. Of two thou- 
sand souls composing the caravan, not more than 
twenty escaped the calamity, and these owed their 
preservation to the swiftness of their dromedaries. 
Such, in all probability, was the terrible "agent 
which heaven employed for the destruction of the 
prodigious army led on by the king of Assyria. 

In concluding the illustration of the Eastern 
manners that occur in the history of the Jews un- 
der the monarchy, it deserves to be noticed, that 
while some of the Jewish monarchs received at 
their death the most splendid funeral honours, had 
piles erected on which the costliest spices were 
consumed, were accompanied to the place of inter- 
ment with a pompous cavalcade, and deposited, 
amid the sincere lamentations of their subjects, in 
the mausoleums of their ancestors, others died and 
were buried in the most ignominious style. These 
were princes whose characters were odious, and 
their reigns tyrannical, unrighteous, and ignoble ; 
from which there is reason to conclude, although it 
has not been noticed by the sacred historian, that 
the Israelites had early adopted the Egyptian mode 
of honouring their deceased monarchs, according 
«o their personal and royal qualities, and giving to 



BABYLONIAN AND PEKSIAN LIFE. 287 

the virtuous and patriotic of them the' highest 
honours which a conntry could bestow, while those 
who had abused their power, were left to the 
" burial of an ass." 



CHAPTER VIII. 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE.* 

Absolute power of the king3 of Persia — magnificence of their court 
and festivals — rank of Sultana — secluded state of court ladies — an- 
cient Persian kings never admitted their subjects to an audience- 
officers of the court — great power amd peculiar duties of the chief of 
the Eunuchs — vizier — Haman raised to that rank — peculiar honours 
conferred on him — portrait of an Eastern grandee — reason of Morde- 
cai's refusal to honour Haman — national records — manner in whieh 
the kings bestow favours — highest honour conferred in Persia — ban- 
quet of Esther — dreadful significance of royal anger — laws of 
Persia irreversible — anecdote— couriers— description of a remarkable 
dromedary — Astrologers — prodigious influence of that order — 
anecdote of Shah Abbas — dreams — dream of Shah Abbas— sym- 
bolical language— dismissal of astrologers from court at king's death 
— Daniel's reward — punishment. 

The practice of transplanting a conquered nation 
into a foreign land, has in all ages been the favour- 
ite policy of Eastern princes, adopted in order to 
prevent combinations among the natives, for throw- 

*The history of Jonah, which properly belongs to this 
part of the work, presents nothing that demands a par- 
ticular illustration. It may be proper, however, to re- 
mark, on the testimony of Roberts, who had much ac- 
quaintance with heathen sailors, that, on the approach 
of danger, they cry, like the crew of Jonah's vessel, 
• every man to his God." " More than once," says he, 
" have I been in these circumsances, and never can I 



288 EASTERN MANNERS. 

ing off the yoke of the conqueror, and recovering 
their liberty, which could not be so easily formed 
in a strange country, and among a population 
speaking a different tongue. In conformity with 
this Asiatic custom, Nebuchadnezzar removed the 
Jews, after the conquest of Jerusalem, in the reign 
of Zedekiah, to Babylon, and consequently the 
scene of the sacred story is for a time transferred 
to a distant land. But, as the history at this period 
takes a more limited range, being confined almost 
wholly to the fortunes of some of the more illus- 
trious of the Hebrew exiles, we can expect no por- 
traiture of the manners of the court and country to 
which they were introduced, except as far as con- 
nected with the narrative of their personal adven- 

forget the horror and helplessness of the poor idolaters. 
They invariably ascribe the storm to some one on board 
who has committed a great crime, and instead of labour- 
ing at the oar, look about and inquire who is the sinner? 
Some time ago a number of native vessels left the 
roads of Negapatam at the same hour, for Point Pedro, 
in the island of Ceylon ; they had not been long at sea. 
before it was perceived that one of them could not 
make any way, she rolled and pitched and veered 
about in every direction, but the other vessels went on 
beautifully before the wind. The captain and his crew 
began to look at the passengers, and at last fixed their 
eyes upon a poor woman, who was crouched in a cor- 
ner of the hold ; they inquired into her condition, and 
found that she was in a state of impurity. " Let down 
the canoe," was the order, " and take this woman 
ashore." In vain she remonstrated ; she was compelled 
to enter, and was soon landed on the beach. To ap- 
pease the angry gods, the sailors "offered sacrifice" of 
cocoa nuts, which were the only articles on board. 
Such were exactly the notions of the mariners respect- 
ing Jonah, and the Lord employed their superstition 
as the means of bringing the disobedient prophet to 
penitence and submission. 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE. 289 

tures. And although the captivity embraced a pro- 
tracted term, during which a most important revo- 
lution took place in the kingdom, on which they 
depended ; although they served successively as 
the vassals of the Babylonish and Persian dynas- 
ties, yet these two governments appear to resem- 
ble each other so much in their general features, in 
the constitution and character of their monarchies, 
in the rewards bestowed by their sovereigns on 
their favourites, and in the punishments inflicted 
on offenders, that, for the sake of brevity, we shall 
consider them together, taking, however, the Per- 
sian episode of Esther as the leading subject of 
illustration, both because the account is fuller, and 
the materials of explanation afforded by the mod- 
ern history of that country are so ample. 

The king of Persia was then as he is still, an 
absolute monarch, having the lives and property of 
his subjects entirely at his disposal. His will is 
the only law, let it be ever so unjust or capricious ; 
and let him once resolve on taking the life or pos- 
sessions of any, even the greatest personages in his 
kingdom, neither loyalty to his person, nor eminent 
merit, is of any avail to arrest the execution of 
the despot's wishes. Seljook, who sat on the 
throne of Persia, was a prince of great reputation, 
but he fell into habits of the greatest intemperance, 
insomuch that, on one occasion, in a fit of intoxica- 
tion, he ordered his queen to come into his pres- 
ence, and, on her refusal, commanded one of his 
slaves to bring her head. The cruel mandate was 
obeyed, and the head of the beautiful, but ambitious 
princess, was presented in a golden charger to her 
drunken husband, as he sat carousing with his dis- 
solute companions. Some officers, who were pre- 
25 



290 EASTERN MANNERS. 

sent, expressing their abhorrence of the horrid 
deed, were instantly put to death by the arbitrary 
prince. In a manner still more summary did Sofi, 
another king of Persia, punish an astrologer who 
seemed to reflect on the royal proceedings. When 
that Shah and all his great men were assembled 
to see some criminals cut in pieces, a punishment 
very common in that country, and the chief of the 
astrologers was there among the rest, the Shah 
viewing attentively the countenances of his courtiers, 
observed that the principal astrologer shut his 
eyes at every stroke of the sabre, as not able to 
behold so horrible a slaughter; he thereupon called 
to the governor who sat near him to put out the 
eyes of that dog who was at his left hand, since he 
did not use them, which was executed in an in- 
stant on the unhappy astrologer. Such instances 
of arbitrary power enable us to perceive that the 
despots Ahasuerus and Nebuchadnezzar made no 
extraordinary stretch of their royal prerogatives, 
when the one ordered his queen into his presence, 
and, for disobedience, dethroned her, and authorized 
the destruction of a whole race of people who were 
among his most peaceable and useful subjects ; and 
when the other ordered on different occasions some 
excellent men to immediate destruction, because 
they did not comply with his extravagant humour. 
No less remarkable a feature in the court of the 
Persian kings, was the prodigal magnificence, which 
was particularly displayed in the extent of their 
harems, and the sumptuousness of their banquets. 
A description of the latter of these occurs at the 
commencement of the book of Esther ; when, ac- 
cording to Eastern etiquette, the king entertained 
his friends in one place ; and the queen, her prin- 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LITE. 291 

cesses, and other attendants, in another.* And we 
may form some idea of the magnificence displayed 
at this banquet, which lasted seven days, of the 
scene where it was celebrated, and the whole 
preparations, from an account given by a traveller 
in Persia, who had the fortune to witness a royal 
marriage entertainment there. It was celebrated 
on the terrace of the palace, covered with a pa- 
vilion, which was supported by five pillars. This 
tent palace was lined with gold and silver bro- 
cade, velvet and elegantiy painted linen, which had 
a very fine effect by the light of so many torches. 
Pavilions of this kind, erected in the courts and 
gardens of princes, are very common in the East, 
are very costly, and sometimes of so great magni- 
tude as to be capable of containing ten thousand 
persons. Along the sides of this are placed divans 
or cushions, of different shapes and sizes, in cases 
of silver and gold brocade, corresponding with the 
decorations of the banqueting apartment of king 
Ahasuerus — the "white, green, and blue hangings 
fastened with cords of fine linen and purple, to sil- 
ver rings and pillars of marble." The harem, like 
every thing that ministered to the king's pleasure, 
was supplied in as sumptuous a manner. When- 
ever there was a vacancy in the queen's throne, or 

* Although women have their banquets apart from 
the men, these are generally, especially in the case of 
princesses and ladies of rank, as luxurious and expen- 
sive as those of their lords. On the subject of women 
eating apart from the men, we may subjoin the follow- 
ing curious anecdote : One of the questions put by a 
rannee, cr principal wife of a chief, to an Englishman 
of high rank in India, was, whether she hud been 
rightly informed when she was told that the wives of 
emperors ate with their husbands ; and, on being an- 
swered in the affirmative, she expressed the greatest 
astonishment. 



292 EASTERN MANNERS. 

whenever it suited the pleasure of the king, an 
order was issued for all the finest women in the 
land, wheher of a high or low degree, to be brought 
to the palace; they all became the king's concu- 
bines, but one was raised to the dignity of chief 
wife or Sultana, and her issue was especially enti- 
tled to inherit. To her, of course, belonged the 
highest honours in the kingdom ; but she too was 
greatly subject to the will of her imperious lord, in 
common with the rest of his numerous wives ; and 
all of them were placed under the custody of guar- 
dians, who watched their motions with the strictest 
vigilance, and the least unfaithfulness in whom was 
visited with instant death. These royal women 
were kept in apartments by themselves, the privacy 
of which is accounted so inviolable, that it is a 
crime to inquire what passes within their walls ; 
and a person may walk, according to the testimony 
of a well informed traveller, a hundred days, one 
after another, in front of the harems, and yet never 
see one of the fair prisoners, or know any more 
of what is done there, than if he were at the furthest 
extremity of the kingdom. Of the extreme rigour 
with which ladies, especially those of the court, 
are guarded, and the heinous offence of looking 
them in the face, a ludicrous anecdote is told of 
a Persian queen, who, having been enjoying the 
amusement of hunting, stopped to refresh herself 
at a little hamlet with a draught of water. The 
villagers, however, terrified at finding themselves 
so near the sacred person of the queen, fled, and 
not one could be found courageous enough to 
approach the presence of majesty. No wonder 
that Mordecai, in his impatience to learn the for- 
tune of his niece when she was taken to the palace, 
had to parade from day to day, in expectation of 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LITE. 293 

some casual opportunity occurring to gain informa- 
tion respecting the place she was destined to fill in 
the seraglio. 

In conformity with this profound seclusion which 
pervades the royal establishment, the person of the 
king himself was anciently considered so sacred, 
that nobody was permitted to intrude, on any pre- 
text whatever, without a special permission or invi- 
tation ; and all transactions of business were carried 
on through the medium of his ministers. We can 
easily understand the reason, then, why Esther, 
who had not been with the king for thirty days, 
was so unwilling to accede to the request of Mor- 
decai to intrude into the royal presence, unbidden, 
which she considered a step that endangered her 
life. Every thing depended on the caprice of the 
despot ; and not even the beauty and interesting re- 
lation of the queen would have secured her from 
punishment, had he been in a humour to stand upon 
points of honour and etiquette. The manner of 
giving consent to an introduction was by stretching 
out the golden sceptre for the suppliant to touch ; 
and no sooner had Esther received that sign of con- 
descension from her lord, than she felt emboldened 
to go forward; and yet she durst not venture all at 
once to reveal the object of her wishes, till she had 
tried some soft arts to steal upon the heart of the 
king. 

Equal in magnificence and extent to the title o** 
" the king of kings," was his court, the principal 
officers of which were the captain of the guard, 
whose duty it was to execute the decrees of his 
royal master ; the prime minister, who sat and ad- 
ministered justice at the gate, an office which Daniel 
afterwards held ; and the master of the eunuchs, 
who was entrusted with the management and pro- 
25* 



294 EASTERN MANNERS. 

tection of the seraglio. This latter officer was pos- 
sessed of great influence in the royal household ; 
and, as the nature of his duties admitted him to a 
knowledge of the most delicate and important affairs 
of the king, he was, for that reason, generally se- 
lected from those public servants of whose fidelity 
and prudence the sovereign had experience. Such 
was Ashpenaz, whom Nebuchadnezzar charged 
with the selection of some young men from among 
the Hebrew captives, to be educated for his service, 
and to whom Daniel and his friends applied for an 
exemption from the regimen prescribed for the 
youths, who were in the course of being trained to 
wait upon the king. Even although we did not 
know from the constitution of Eastern courts in 
the present day, the confidence reposed by their 
royal masters in those who are advanced to this 
office of dignity, we might infer their great power 
and influence, from the conduct of Ashpenaz, in 
venturing to dispense, in the case of the Hebrew 
exiles, with rules, the observance of which the 
princes of the East have always enforced with the 
utmost rigour. For both in ancient and modern 
times, they have been exceedingly careful to fill the 
offices of state, and especially those of the royal 
household with persons of the greatest beauty ; and, 
in order to accomplish this, they not only search 
out for the comeliest young men in the country, 
but bring them at an early age to apartments in the 
palace, where they are maintained under the strictest 
regulations as to diet and exercise. In the train of 
no monarchs, so much as those of the East, says 
Ricaut, is there to be seen such a number of youths, 
conspicuous for the beauty of their features, the 
healthiness of their appearance, and the splendour 
of their dress. This predilection among Eastern 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE. 295 

princes for personal beauty, enables us to perceive 
the grounds on which Daniel and his three com- 
panions were taken into the palace; the fair com- 
plexions of these natives of Palestine having attract- 
ed the notice of their foreign masters, before the 
superior attributes of mind of these young foreign- 
ers were known. The source of their difficulties 
in regard to the food given them in the palace, was 
probably that the regimen prescribed for persons of 
their destination, consisted of viands which it was 
not lawful for a Jew to touch. 

Like all Eastern monarchs, the Persian king has 
some favourite ministers whom he exalts to a rank 
inferior only to himself, and into whose hands he 
commits the administration of affairs. The indi- 
vidual who engrossed the royal favour in the days 
of Esther, was a foreigner, who basked in the sun- 
shine of prosperity, and received marks of attention 
of so extraordinary a nature, that they are almost 
without a precedent in the history of court favour- 
ites. In most Eastern palaces the monarch dines 
at a table by himself; but the kings of Persia had 
carried their pretensions so much further, that none 
but the king's mother and his chief wife were per- 
mitted to sit at his table ; and it was a rare mark of 
condescension on his part, when he invited his 
younger brothers to enjo}^ that honour. Among 
the honours heaped upon Haman, was that of be- 
ing asked to partake of the banquet which the queen 
had prepared for her royal husband ; and, knowing 
the rarity of such an honour being conferred on any 
of the royal family, much less on an inferior sub- 
ject, it was not without reason that 'that proud and 
ambitions minister boasted of his good fortune 
among his confidential friends. Pride, however, 
will always render its possessors unhappy, and, 



296 EASTERN MANNERS. 

notwithstanding the uncommon distinctions with 
which he had been honoured, the mind of this vain 
man was greatly disturbed by the refusal of an 
humble individual who frequented the gate of the 
palace, to give him those marks of homage, which 
were rendered to the vizier, by all even of the 
courtiers themselves. The conduct of Haman pre- 
sents a very lively picture of a proud grandee of the 
East at the present day, and of the revenge which 
he always meditates against any who neglect to 
pay him the customary tokens of respect. The 
name and place of residence of the offender will be 
immediately inquired after, and the first opportu- 
nity taken to let him feel the consequences of his 
presumption. A case related by Mr. Roberts, is 
illustrative of this disposition. A Moorman of high 
bearing and great riches, had purchased the rent 
of the pearl fishery of the Bay of Ondachy, and, 
in consequence was a person of great influence 
amongst the people. The proud Mordelian was 
one day passing along the road, where was seated 
on his carpet the renter of the pearl fishery. He 
arose not, nor bowed to him, when passing by. 
The Mordelian's soul was fired with indignation: 
he forthwith resolved upon his ruin, and by deeply 
formed intrigues too well succeeded. The rent was 
taken from the Moorman, his estates were sold, 
and, to make up the deficiency, he himself was dis- 
posed of by auction, for the payment of his debts, 
and the Mordelian became his purchaser. Such are 
the ways in which offended pride takes its revenge 
in the East. The homage which Haman received 
from the venial crowd that hung about the palace, 
was probably that prostration of body which the 
Persians were accustomed to give as the profound- 
est act of submission, and which was nothing else 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE. 297 

than a species of worship — an act of homage which 
even the ancient Greeks refused to render, and 
which it would have been the greatest impiety in 
Mordecai to render to any mortal man, however 
exalted his character and situation. Into his reli- 
gious scruples, the ambitious favourite did not, and 
could not enter; and, determined at all hazards to 
rid himself of one who was likely to prove an 
obstacle in his way to universal power, he had 
formed the purpose of taking the life of the obnox- 
ious Jew — the execution of which was providen- 
tially prevented by the attention of the king him* 
self being drawn to the services of Mordecai by 
means which, being peculiarly national, require 
some little explanation. The principal acts in the 
reign of every Persian king were put upon record 
by persons kept about the court for that purpose, 
They were all written in verse, and were generally 
the productions of the most eminent poets of the 
empire. The most celebrated heroic poem of Per- 
sia, the Shah Na?neh, Book of Kings, by Ferdusi, 
is nothing more than a collection of chronicles 
brought down from the creation to the reign of Mo- 
hammed Ghezney, in the beginning of the tenth 
century. The perusal of these versified annals is 
a favourite pastime with the higher classes in that 
country ; and nothing is more common at banquets 
than for persons to be bronght to entertain the com- 
pany with the recital of some of the more interest- 
ing passages. It was therefore not unusual for the 
king, when he found himself indisposed for rest, to 
divert himself with the perusal of some of the most 
eventful occurrences of his past reign : among which 
was brought vividly to his recollection a conspiracy 
against his life, which had been fortunately discov- 
ered, and the conspirators brought to condign pun- 



298 EASTERN MANNERS. 

ishment, through the vigilance and loyalty of a cap- 
tive Jew.* Reminded forcibly of the magnitude of 
his obligations, the sovereign found that the pre- 
server of his life had been hitherto unrewarded, and, 
with the expedition which Persian monarchs al- 
ways show on such occasions, he immediately or- 
dered that some honorary tribute should be award- 
ed to him, adequate to the signal service he had 
rendered to the crown. In conferring marks of 
their favour, the kings of Persia do not at once, and 
as it were by their own will, determine the kind of 
honour, that shall be bestowed, but they turn round 
to the man that stands next in rank to themselves, 
and ask him what shall be done to the individual 
who has rendered the service, which they specify ; 
and according to the answer of the favourite, and 
sometimes of the individual himself, the royal man- 
date is issued. Sir Robert Shirley mentions an in- 
stance to this purport. On a person being reported 
to the king as having rendered some important pub- 
lic service, the monarch turned to Shirley, who 
happened to be nearest the royal person, and said, 
" What shall be done to the man who has done this 
thing?" Shirley named a piece of money, and a 
robe of honour, and the king ordered them to be 
given. According to this custom, the appeal was 
made to Haman, in reference to the meritorious 
Jew, and that haughty minister, vainly supposing 
the honour could be intended for none but himself, 
was made the unwilling instrument of conferring on 
the individual whom, of all men, he most detested, 
the highest honours which a Persian king could be- 
stow — a coat which had been worn by the monarch 



* Those who rendered any services to the king had 
always their names in inscribed the public register. 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE. 299 

himself; one of the royal horses, which it was un- 
lawful for any but the sovereign to bestride, with- 
out special permission ; the crown which, however, 
was put on the head, not of the rider, but of the 
steed; and in this royal state to be led by the 
greatest subject through the principal streets of the 
city. 

Scarcely had Haman performed his part in the 
pageant, when, chagrined as he was, he was hur- 
ried away to the banquet which Esther had pre- 
pared. In Persia, it is customary not only to give 
an invitation at first, but to renew that invitation 
when the time has arrived for its celebration. And, 
accordingly, while pouring forth his complaints and 
his disappointments in the ears of his family, who 
foresaw the symptoms of his approaching downfall, 
the messengers arrived to announce that the queen 
expected his presence at her entertainment. At a 
certain period of that feast, the king, as usual, re- 
quested to know the petition of his royal consort ; 
and, having ascertained, from her reluctant lips, the 
plot which endangered her life, to sanction which 
he had been unconsciously betrayed by his vizier, 
he burst forth into a fit of ungovernable rage, which 
was not unnatural, on the discovery of such a com- 
plicated scheme of villany as Haman had meditated. 
The rising of the king, however, from the table, 
was not a mere involuntary act, done under the im- 
pulse of vehement emotion, but it was the usual 
way in which the Persian kings intimated their will 
to their attendants, that any individual who had 
offended them was to be put to death. When the 
king of Persia, says Tavernier, orders a person to 
be executed, and then rises and goes into the wo- 
men's apartment, it is a sign that no mercy is to be 
hoped for. Even the sudden rising of the king in 



300 EASTERN MANNERS. 

anger was the same as if he had pronounced sen- 
tence. Shah Sefi was once greatly offended by 
some unseasonable jokes which one of his favour- 
ites allowed himself in the royal presence. The 
king immediately rose and retired, upon which the 
favourite saw that his life was forfeited. He went 
home in confusion, and in a few hours afterwards 
the king sent for his head. The attendants of Aha- 
suerus seeing the furious expression of the royal 
countenance, and knowing that the fall of the fa- 
vourite was irretrievable, instantly threw a napkin 
over his face, as malefactors are commonly veiled, 
and hurrying him from the king's presence hanged 
him on the instrument of death he had prepared for 
his enemy. By this providential turn of affairs, 
the preservation of the queen, and the elevation of 
her venerable relative, were secured ; but they were 
not so engrossed with their own concerns, as to be 
unmindful of the doom that hung over their unhap- 
py countrymen. The sentence of condemnation 
pronounced against the wicked contriver of the plot, 
did not by any means imply a reversal of the sen- 
tence which had gone forth against them. And as 
the time fixed for that terrible catastrophe was al- 
most at hand, the queen lost no time in appplying to 
her husband for his consent to have the decree re- 
versed. But however disposed the king was to 
grant the request, there was an insuperable obstacle 
to its being granted, which a young foreigner like 
Esther could not foresee. To understand this, it 
is necessary to bear in mind, that in Persia and 
other Eastern countries, the king is entirely despo- 
tic; his will is fixed and immutable law; and, in 
order to compensate for the caprice and mutability 
of the human mind, custom had introduced into that 
country, a refinement, that the law could not be 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE. 301 

changed. So that whatever the monarch com- 
manded, however foolish and extravagant, it wag 
beyond even his power to reverse it. Many pas- 
sages in the Bible prove the truth of this, such an 
Daniel's being cast into the den of lions, contrary 
to the ardent wish of Darius. That the law has 
undergone no change in this respect, nor the power 
of the monarch become less immutable, appears 
from a very curious anecdote related by Sir John 
Malcolm coscerning the late king. Aga Moham- 
med Khan, when encamped near Shiraz, said that 
he would not move till the snow was off the moun- 
tain. "The season proved severe, and the snow 
remained longer than was expected. The army 
began to suffer distress and sickness, but the king 
had said, that while the snow remained upon the 
mountain he would not move, and his word was 
law, and couW not be broken. A multitude of 
labourers were therefore collected from the sur- 
rounding country, and sent to remove the snow. 
By their efforts the mountain was cleared in a few 
days, and then, but not till then, Aga Mohammed 
Khan marched." This anecdote, which shows the 
sacred nature of a word spoken by the king of 
Persia, shows also the difficulty that he always en- 
countered in escaping from any wrong or danger- 
ous decision he may have incidentally expressed. 
And it is sufficient to account for the strange and 
apparently ridiculous edict that was issued, allow- 
ing all the Jews, who were dispersed throughout the 
kingdom cf Persia, to attack by force of arms those 
who should rise against them. The former decree 
had empowered all the natives to slaughter without 
mercy every Jew, who would have been obliged to 
submit to their hard fate without a murmur or 
complaint. But this sanguinary enactment, it ap- 
26 



302 



EASTERN MANNERS. 



pears, could not, according to the principles of the 
Persian monarcny, be recalled ; and the only way 
of preventing the intended massacre of an unoffend- 
ing people, was the publication of another decree, 
giving power to the Jews to attack all their ene- 
mies in their turn. Awkward as was this remedy 
of a grievous and unjustifiable wrong, it was the 
only one which circumstances would admit of; and 
the only way left to the queen and her uncle was 
to procure its transmission over all Persia before 
the day of general massacre commenced.* But 
how could the important decree be conveyed to the 
remotest corners of the kingdom with the expedition 
requisite in so great an emergency? The only 
mode of conveyance then in use was by beasts of 
burden, for we are told that the king's decrees, after 
being sealed with the royal signet, were sent wi;h 
letters by posts on horseback, and by riders on 
mules, camels, and dromedaries; and in order to 
let the reader understand how far the latter, which 
were probably employed for the most distant jour- 
neys, were competent to the urgency of the occa- 
sion, we shall give a short account of one, which 
was kept at Algiers, as in most other Eastern coun- 
tries, for purposes of state, or to convey couriers 
with despatches from one country to another. This 
one, which is described by Morgan in his History 
of Algiers, belonged to the princess Til la Oumani, 
and was so greatly valued, that it was never sent 
forth but on some extraordinary occasion, or when 
the greatest expedition was required. This crea- 

* Haman had recourse to divination to determine 
the lucky day for the general slaughter of the Jews. 
The lot fell on that day twelvemonths, so that Provi- 
dence secretly overruled the superstitious credulity of 
Haman to gain time for the safety of his people being 
'isured. 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE. 303 

ture would hold on its rapid course for twenty-four 
hours without showing the least fatigue, and then 
having swallowed one or two balls of a kind of 
paste composed of barley meal and dried dates, 
with a bowl of milk or water, it would seem quite 
refreshed, and be ready to continue running at the 
same incredible rate for as many hours longer, from 
one end of the African desert to the other. On the 
marriage of the princess's only daughter, this 
favourite white dromedary was brought forth; it 
was mounted by an experienced rider, tightly laced 
in a strong leather jacket ; for so violent is this kind 
of exercise, that were he to be too loosely clothed, 
the unremitting agitation would severely injure him. 
The noble creature was once raced against some 
of the fleetest coursers that ever scoured the de- 
sert, so fleet that they could run down an ostrich; 
but they were soon distanced, till at length the dro- 
medary was seen flying towards the spectators 
with amazing velocity, and in a very few moments 
was amongst them, without the slightest appearance 
of fatigue, while the horses foamed and panted, and 
seemed scarcely able to breathe. There was also 
a fleet greyhound which had followed and kept 
pace the whole time, but was no sooner returned 
than she lay down and panted as if ready to expire. 
Another anecdote may be added — "Talking to an 
Arab of Suez," says a late traveller, "on the sub- 
ject of the fleet Arabian dromedaries, he assured 
me that he knew a young man, who was passion- 
ately fond of a lovely girl, whom nothing could sa- 
tisfy but some oranges. These were not to be pro- 
cured at home, and as the lady wanted the best 
fruit, nothing less than Morocco oranges would 
please her. The Arab mounted his dromedary at 
dawn of day, went to Morocco, about one hundred 



304 EASTERN MANNERS. 

miles from his home, purchased the oranges, and 
returned that night." Creatures so fleet as this 
were admirably adapted for those urgent occasions 
of state, for which they were specially kept and 
trained ; and there could be little fear that, under 
the guidance of trusty riders, they would have been 
able to traverse the length and breadth of Persia in 
time to relieve the Jews from the ban under which 
they lay. 

Another prominent feature of the courts of Baby- 
lon and Persia was the number of learned men, 
who were so closely connected with the court, that 
their presence was required, and their influence 
powerful, both in the council and the cabinet. 
These monopolizers of ancient knowledge formed 
a distinct order, called the chasdim, which was 
governed by a chief, and divided into different de- 
partments, such as that of the wise men, whose 
province it was to reveal secrets; the sorcerers, 
who pretended to discover things hidden, by the 
composition of drugs; the diviners, who predicted 
future events by observing the flight of birds, the 
bowels of animals, and the motions of serpents; 
and the astrologers, who determined every circum- 
stance pertaining to the health and fortunes of men, 
by observations on the heavenly bodies; — the last 
of whom, both from the extensive knowledge which 
the Chaldean literati really possessed of astronomy, 
and from the superstition of the human mind, which 
early received the doctrine of sidereal influences, 
were considered as forming the highest and most 
honourable branch of the learned profession. Such 
was the science of Chaldea, if that can be dignified 
with the name of science, which was only a system 
founded on ignorance and superstition, and which, 
spreading itself from Babylon, the place of its birth, 
acquired a firm footing in many countries of the 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE. 305 

ancient world, and still survives in all the maturity 
of its strength among the Hindoos and Persians of 
the present day, who are so infatuated by astrology 
that they believe nothing takes place here below, 
but what is written above. Consequently, they 
resort to their astrologers on the eve of every 
undertaking, in the commencement of a war, the 
choice of a general, and the time for a battle, in the 
despatching or reception of an ambassador, in con- 
tracting marriage, in entering on a journey, in the 
purchase of a slave, and even in the change of a 
dress, and the time to walk and to eat. No trans- 
actions of the most trivial nature can take place 
until the star-gazer has determined the fortunate 
hour : of which the following, out of many others, 
may be given as an example. Shah Abbas, being 
desirous of having a particular spot in the garden 
of his seraglio planted with some favourite fruit 
trees, the ground was accordingly prepared, the 
choicest shoots were procured, and the gardener 
had fixed on a day, when, in presence of the king, 
the young trees were to be set. Meanwhile the 
astrologer who was about the royal person, having 
apprised his master that the day agreed upon would 
not be a lucky season, was ordered forthwith to 
take his books and instruments, and determine what 
would be the most fortunate period. His reply 
was, that the trees must be planted that very even- 
ing, and accordingly the monarch and he set to 
work and in a short time set the whole. The gar- 
dener, on learning what had been done, and per- 
ceiving that the trees had been put into the ground 
without any knowledge of the soil and situation 
adapted to each, took them all up and planted them 
according to his own ideas ; a piece of audacity 
which so enraged the astrologer, that he informed 
26* 



306 EASTERN MANNERS. 

the monarch of it, and the refractory gardener fell 
under the displeasure of the king for being so scep- 
tical of the powers of the celestial science. 

Notwithstanding the high repute in which they 
are held, that nothing in the court or the kingdom 
is done without them, the astrologers are subject, 
in common with all classes of the people, to the 
capricious and arbitrary exactions of their imperial 
master, and not only do individuals of them expe- 
rience the effects of his folly or his indignation, but 
sometimes the whole order has in a moment of dis- 
appointment been proscribed by the incensed Shah. 
One important part of their profession is the inter- 
pretation of dreams, which, in a country where 
superstition so greatly prevails, are considered to 
exercise a portentous influence on human affairs ; 
and these men have generally the tact to hit upon 
such an interpretation as is both plausible and 
pleasing to the mind of the dreamer. But some- 
times, when the unreasonable demand has been 
made on them, not only to give the import of the 
dream, but the vision itself, confessing their ina- 
bility to comply with the extravagant request, they 
have incurred the greatest risk of instant destruc- 
tion from the hands of the infuriated tyrant. The 
Persian astrologers were once thrown into such a 
perilous situation by Shah Abbas. That monarch 
saw one night in a dream the governor of one of 
his provinces, who, looking steadfastly at the king, 
implored his protection in the most piteous manner. 
The Shah was much troubled at this dream and 
desired his astrologers and wise men to inform him 
of the name of the suppliant, and the cause of his 
distress. They were unable to comply with the 
demand, and the imperious monarch, losing all 
temper, threatened the chief astrologer and his 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE. 307 

compeers with death, unless they relieved the 
anxiety of his mind within a given time. While 
preparations were making for their execution, they 
had the address to procure the arrival of some 
couriers from a neighbouring tributary, supplicating 
the aid of his liege lord on some pressing emer- 
gency. Whereupon the vizier, hastening into the 
royal presence with the letters, exclaimed, " Let 
the mind of the refuge of the world be at rest, for 
the dream of our monarch is explained." What 
a lively commentary on the conduct of Nebuchad- 
nezzar, who, "when he had dreamed a dream, and 
the thing had gone from him, commanded to call 
the magicians and astrologers, the sorcerers and 
Chaldeans, to show the king his dreams; and when 
they had answered, It is a rare thing the king re- 
quireth, and there is none other that can show it 
before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling 
is not with flesh, the king being angry and very 
furious, commanded the captain of the guard to 
destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 

Iudispensable as this order of men was, and still 
is at the court of Persia, individual astrologers are 
liable to be displaced, an event which always hap- 
pens on the accession of a new monarch. What- 
ever was the origin of this custom, it is one, as 
Chardin informs us, of great antiquity, and was 
probably the cause of Daniel's being a stranger at 
court in the reign of the profligate Belshazzar. 
The absence of the venerable Hebrew from the 
impious festival of that prince was not a merely ac- 
cidental circumstance, for it appears that neither 
he nor his courtiers knew Daniel, either by name 
or character, till Nitocris, the queen-mother, who 
had witnessed the exhibition of his extraordinary 
talents on former occasions, introduced him to the 



308 EASTERN MANNERS. 

notice of the royal party. The prophet had at that 
time neither been removed out of that country, nor 
had retired into a private station, and the only way, 
therefore, in which the ignorance of the court re- 
garding so illustrious a man, who had been once 
at the head of all the astrologers in the kingdom, 
can be accounted for, is by supposing that, on the 
death of his patron, he had been removed, together 
with all his order, who had then resided in the 
place. 

The reward conferred on Daniel for interpreting 
the mysterious characters that revealed the doom of 
Belshazzar, was a scarlet robe, which was designed 
to honour the prophet in the eyes of his citizens, 
and which certainly was, according to the customs 
of the East, an honour of no common distinction, 
for to retire from the presence of a superior in a 
garment different from that in which one was intro- 
duced, was and still is a high mark of approbation. 
But whether it was the precise intention of this 
splendid cloak to declare Daniel's investiture with 
the dignity of third ruler of the kingdom, or whether 
it was a mere honorary distinction, unconnected 
with his advancement, cannot, in the absence of all 
positive evidence from the history, be determined, 
since it is the custom to confer such robes of hon- 
our with both these views ; nor can the facility with 
which the prophet was arrayed in a festive hall, 
and on the spur of the moment, with one of the 
royal vestments, excite any surprise, when it is 
considered that Eastern monarchs have always a 
large assortment of scarlet and purple robes ready 
to be awarded to those whom they delight to honour. 

With the same promptitude that honours were 
conferred, punishments were inflicted by the princes 
of ancient Babylon and Persia ; and, in general, we 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE. 309 

may observe, they were ordered in the most capri- 
cious and impetuous manner, and were of the se- 
verest character, such as exposure in a den of 
lions, previously famished for the occasion, or in a 
furnace heated to the utmost intensity. Such were 
the punishments allotted to Daniel and his pious 
companions. Of a different character was that to 
which the unfortunate captive king of Judah was 
subjected ; he was not only immured in a prison and 
loaded with chains, but his eyes were put out ; a 
barbarous treatment, which, in Persia, is generally 
confined to great offenders, and especially to 
princes of the blood, to incapacitate them for ever 
ascending the throne ; for it has been a maxim in 
the East, from the earliest times, and it seems to be 
a sound one, where the whole power is vested in a 
single person, that no individual who is blind is 
fit to sit upon a throne. From these observations, 
we may perceive the reason of so great a difference 
being made between the reception of Zedekiah and 
that of his immediate predecessors. It was the 
policy of their Babylonish conquerors at first not to 
overthrow the kingdom of Judah, but to allow its 
laws and privileges to continue, and the prince to 
sit upon his throne as the tributary of Babylon; 
and hence none of them were subjected to any cor- 
poreal abuse or severities. But when, in conse- 
quence of repeated attempts at revolt, the Assyrian 
monarch had determined on destroying the inde- 
pendence of Judah, of reducing it to the form of a 
province, and removing the vanquished inhabitants 
to colonize his own dominions, he resolved at the 
same time on putting it out of the power of Zede- 
kiah to make any attempts at reinstating himself 
on the throne, or at least, at exercising the authori- 
ty of a king. 



310 EASTERN MANNERS. 

During the residence of Sir Gore Ouseley, Bri- 
tish ambassador, in Persia, Mohammed Zemaum 
Khan, governor of Asterabad, having allied himself 
with the Turcomans, threw off his allegiance to the 
king ; but was seized and delivered up to the mo- 
narch by his own people, who dreaded the resent- 
ment of the latter. The king, on his arrival, 
ordered the chief of his camel-artillery to put a 
mock crown on the rebel's head, bazube?ids, or 
armlets on his arms, a sword by his side ; to mount 
him upon an ass with his face towards the tail, and 
the tail in his hand ; then to parade him throughout 
the camp, and to exclaim : " This is he who wanted 
to be king !" After this was over and the people 
had mocked and insulted him, he was led before 
the king, who called for the looties, or buffoons, 
and ordered them to turn him into ridicule, by 
forcing him to dance and make antics against his 
will. He then ordered that whoever chose might 
spit in his face. He then received the bastinado 
on the soles of his feet, and some time afterwards 
had his eyes put out. 

Barbarities not less cruel and characteristic were 
committed on the Hebrews at large, in the land of 
their captivity; being often forced, to gratify the 
pride of their master, to sing their native airs, amid 
the toilsome servitude on the banks of the Chebar ; 
being sold as slaves from one master to another for 
a trifle; being privately assassinated by their ty- 
rannical owners, without either the formality of trial, 
or any to vindicate or espouse their cause ; and 
their bodies being afterwards thrown out into the 
streets and highways, to lie without burial, a prey 
to the dogs and ravenous birds that infest every 
Eastern city. The extensive influence of Daniel 
and his friends, there can be little doubt, would be 



BABYLONIAN AND PERSIAN LIFE. 311 

directed to restrain such lawless and degrading 
treatment of his unfortunate countrymen ; and the 
illustrious Hebrews, who, after him, were known 
in the court and cabinet of the Persian king, ex- 
erted themselves with a generous patriotism for the 
interests and piotection of the people, till they suc- 
ceeded, under God, in restoring them once more to 
the land, together with the equal laws and pure 
worship, of their fathers. 



